A criminal’s ability to adapt should never go underestimated.

That’s the sentiment among Washtenaw County law enforcement officials who track auto thefts after spending 2009 investigating a more sophisticated type of theft than they've seen before.

With advances in security technology in newer vehicles, the old tactics of punching out ignitions or hot-wiring a car are now reserved for older model, less expensive automobiles. 

Local law enforcement officials say the current approach to theft involves stealing new cars from lots using stolen or fake identifications, then cloning or retagging them with a combination of fake titles and VINs.

“They steal cars any way they can,” said Michigan State Police Sgt. George Warchock, a member of the Washtenaw Area Auto Theft Team. “Because other avenues have been tightened up, it’s easier to do the identity type thefts, and you’re getting a brand new car with no damage and zero miles.”

Scio Township auto dealers have fallen prey to sophisticated thieves.

Tom Perkins | For AnnArbor.com

In Scio Township alone, which has a multitude of car dealerships along Jackson Road, one auto theft was reported in 2008, while 11 were reported in 2009.

That amounts to hundreds of thousands dollars in lost property, which costs dealers and customers several times over. Warchock explained stolen cars are sold and reclaimed by law enforcement after they're located with unwitting buyers.

John Taylor, a manager at Dunning Toyota in Scio Township, said the dealership's sales associates receive training in identifying potential thieves and are more aware than ever of the tactics. He said he's confident the training and attention of police agencies will address the problem.

“We appreciate the hard work and effort from the sheriff’s department in taking a bigger interest in what has happened here,” he said. “They come in and they are actively trying to pursue the people who trying to do this type of thing.”

One of the more common approaches authorities have seen in Southeast Michigan over the past two years involves criminals physically stealing a person’s driver’s license or obtaining personal information online. They then walk into a dealership posing as that person.

With minimal identification, a thief can purchase a car, then sell it to another dealer or auction before the credit agency or anyone is aware.

“With identity theft, what do you do, how do you combat it?” Warchock said. “How do I know that’s the person they say they are without a military background investigation? The dealers just wouldn’t sell any cars doing that.”

Warchock pointed out while some criminals have access to the latest technology and know the credit system inside and out, adapting to technological advances is nothing new for law enforcement.

“You see a range of sophistication just like any other crime,” he said. “You get the dumb crook to the well-educated criminal.”

When a car isn’t sold immediately after it’s stolen off the lot, it can be retagged or cloned to evade detection by police. Cloning a car involves using two different vehicles in two different states to create a fake identity for a stolen car. It also must involve the secretary of state in more than one state.

Police say this works by finding a car of the same make and model in a different state, copying its VIN and creating a fake title with the stolen VIN. Once the false paperwork is created, a new plate with the stolen VIN is put on the stolen car. The individual can then sign the car over to himself or herself on the title.

Auto dealership officials say they're educating their employees about new forms of car theft.

Tom Perkins | For AnnArbor.com

After that, the car looks street legal to a dealership, buyer or the average police officer.

“If you were an officer behind the car on a traffic stop, the VIN matches, so you’d be like ‘Oh, that car is good to go,'” said Washtenaw County Sheriff's Det. Steve Wallen, also a member of the county Auto Theft Unit.

The only way to identify a stolen car at that point is to find out from the auto company where the personal VIN is, which is a number stamped into a unique spot on each car.

“They’re usually not found by police until something that happens like the car gets in a wreck,” Wallen said.

The distance between the stolen IDs also complicates tracking and discovering the stolen cars.

“Crime is not just staying in a county or township,” Warchock said. “With the Web or Internet, it becomes worldwide instantaneously, so crime venues are huge. You just covered a whole swath of area if you clone a car.”

Another method is retagging, which involves stealing a VIN plate off a car of the same make and model from a junkyard or by using a “donor” car. The stolen VIN plate is put on the stolen car, and the donor car is destroyed.

Once a matching title is made or provided to the thief by a retag shop, he can then go to the secretary of state and sign the car over to himself. Transferring ownership on a title is easy in Michigan, police say.

Wallen said he'd like to see an arrangement similar to states in which the lien holder keeps the title until the car is paid off.

“The secretary of state is lax in the program,” he said. “They’re doing their job, but they’re doing what they’re authorized to do. There should be more checks and balances on this type of thing.”

Terri Miller, director of Help Eliminate Auto Theft in Michigan, said the evolving manner in which people steal cars is nothing new.

“Just when we think we got them figured out, they come with something new to separate good people from their vehicles,” Miller said. “We’re trying to keep up with them but it's difficult; it’s a never-ending battle.”

Because Washtenaw County’s auto theft unit is small, investigators say they can only be so proactive in their approach. But they say they're working with dealerships to educate them on how to spot individuals who may be using fake identification.

“We're trying to give them more tools so they won’t be tricked by any of this,” Wallen said. “People should be way more suspicious and err on caution’s side.”

Warchock said HEAT has been particularly helpful in soliciting tips that lead to arrests. The insurance industry-funded agency pays up to $10,000 for anonymous tips that lead to conviction.

“These people don’t operate in a vacuum - crooks love to brag about how smart they are and what they’re doing," Miller said. “The key is awareness. The dealers need to be aware this is an issue and they need to train everyone in the dealership to look out for these things. They can’t be so focused on making a sale that common sense goes out the window.”

Warchock says he envisions a nationwide driver’s license system linked to each state's department of motor vehicles, so if someone in Michigan tries to sign over a car with a VIN from a car in California, red flags would go up.

But Warchock also knows thieves would likely figure out a new way to commit their crimes.

“No matter what we do with auto theft crime, they will find a loophole - that’s just the nature of the beast,” he said.

Tom Perkins is a freelance writer for AnnArbor.com. Reach the news desk at news@annarbor.com or 734-623-2530.