Vehicle frauds on the up in Helsinki area
Noticeable fall in number of traditional car thefts
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Last year saw a drop in the number of traditional car thefts in Helsinki compared to the previous three years. Deceptions related to motor vehicles, in turn, continue to become more and more common in the capital area.
The changing trends of car crimes result from advances in security technology as well as from the noticeable depreciation of the value of the existing vehicle population.
The police come up against more and more cases where a vehicle has been stolen with keys, documents, and all from a car showroom, or from a private person selling his or her car.
A quick fall of the market value of the car below the value of the outstanding loan repayments may also tempt the owner to try to pull off an insurance scam.
Without being able to produce any exact figures, the police confirm that this new type of motor vehicle crime is clearly on the up. Furthermore, a substantial number of such crimes may stay hidden as unsuspecting insurance companies simply pay the compensation.
Inspector Mikko Masalin of Helsinki’s Itäkeskus car squad reckons that during the past year he has had to deal with dozens of car fraud cases. "Previously there were isolated cases every now and then, but now we get them on a monthly if not a weekly basis."
Simultaneously the number of traditional car thefts is clearly decreasing. According to the crime statistics from last year, the police was informed of just over 2,600 car thefts.
Between 2001-2003 the corresponding figure was over 3,000 stolen vehicles per year.
The reasons for the drop include intensified surveillance by the police.
Another major contributory factor is the advanced car security technology. Since anti-theft devices became compulsory in 1997, the portion of cars equipped with one is starting to be significant.
"There are no known cases where a thief would have managed to deactivate a new car’s immobiliser", Masalin recalls.
The improvements in anti-theft technologies have caused the thieves to resort to alternative methods. Car dealers have reported more and more cases where vehicles have simply disappeared during a test drive.
"In some cases a person has ordered a new car, and while waiting for its delivery the car dealer has provided the customer with a temporary vehicle. By the time the ordered car has arrived, both the buyer and his temporary set of wheels have vanished."
Private car sellers are not safe from rogue customers, either. Masalin knows of cases where a receipt has been produced as a sign of a paid deposit. The car disappeared but the money didn’t surface on the seller’s bank account.
"Though the receipt stated the agreed down payment the transaction never took place, as the buyer’s account lacked sufficient funds", Masalin explains.
In other cases criminals waited for the right car to appear at a swimming hall's parking lot. The owner of the vehicle was then followed into the dressing room, where his locker was subsequently broken into for the keys.
The depreciation of the value of the present motor pool has brought out a new phenomenon.
When the European Union pressured Finland to renew its car tax policy in 2003, the entire motor pool quickly depreciated in value. This led to a situation where people who had bought a car before 2003 had much more debt to settle than was the actual market value of their car.
In such cases some people have become tempted one way or another to trick the insurance company into paying for the shortfall.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 7.3.2005 - TODAY |
 Vehicle frauds on the up in Helsinki area |
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