Most people think of identity theft as someone stealing your credit card or Social Security number. However, there are many other ways someone can use your information against you.

Owning a car comes with a surprising number of security concerns. If someone can get hold of your car’s information, they can often use that against you. For example, one car owner claimed that someone stole her car’s information, then used it to illegally register what may have been a stolen vehicle. This is one reason experts advise wiping all information from your car before selling it.

Now, a user on TikTok says he’s experiencing a different kind of fraud. While no one is stealing their car, someone appears to be stealing their information to buy car parts. Here’s how it’s happening.

What Happened With This Man’s AutoZone Account?

In a video with over 60,600 views as of this writing, TikTok user Kody Hoeft (@innnoutonmainauto) reveals what happened to his AutoZone account.

“I’ve never experienced what I experienced today,” Hoeft begins.

Hoeft goes on record saying he’s been on the job five years on the job and never thought this would happen.

“I get a call from New Brunswick AutoZone. Somebody’s trying to use my credit account there to buy large amounts of motor oil, etc,” he shares.

Hoeft suspects the person doing this suspicious fraudulent activity is one of his TikTok followers.

“I know it’s somebody on here, because who in New Brunswick, New Jersey, would know that I own a shop?” he asks.

To close the video, he asks if anyone has had something like this happen to them.

“As An Employee For 10 Years, It’s Quite Frequent”

In the comments section, users said that these sorts of fraud attempts were common.

“Yes I have. Employee was charging my account and selling the parts to customers to pocket the money. AutoZone made it [expletive] to clear it off to the point I had to pay it temporarily. I had to get police involved for AutoZone to actually press up on the issue,” one TikTok user shared.

“As an employee for 10 years, it’s quite frequent,” one TikTok user added.

“I have my account locked, need a 4 digit code to buy anything,” a third commented.

How Is This Possible?

While Hoeft may suspect that this was done by one of his followers, some commenters and internet users say that this is a relatively easy scam to attempt, even if such attempts often aren’t successful.

In short, AutoZone offers commercial businesses the opportunity to create accounts with the chain. This allows them to place bulk and specialty orders, often with a wholesale discount. 

Typically, this requires a PIN in order to complete the transaction. However, some say that the PIN is relatively easy to find. Both a TikTok commenter and a Reddit user alleged that a PIN was visible on their purchase invoices.

“Your pin is on the invoice, so be careful,” one TikTok commenter advised.

“The pin number is the ‘customer #’ on the invoice, below the phone number. That’s what you need to purchase at other AZs that’s not your home store,” the Reddit user added.

Additionally, an AutoZone worker on Reddit shared that they had observed customers using shop PINs, with permission, in order to get a discount on items.

Can AutoZone Stop This?

Thankfully, AutoZone appears to have measures in place to prevent this sort of fraud from happening.

On Reddit, multiple users stated that it is common practice at AutoZone for employees to call the shop and verify a purchase before going through with it.

“You are to call the owner directly if no one answers, we were told that we can deny the sale,” offered a commenter.

AutoZone does not appear to have confirmed such a policy. That said, other commenters in the thread said their stores had their own measures in place to prevent fraud. This could include asking a customer to pay with cash or card if the shop cannot be reached.

How To Protect AutoZone Account From Scammers

If one is concerned about this happening to them, they can protect their AutoZone account with additional measures.

These measures include assigning a PO to the account, requesting a photo ID, or giving AutoZone a list of people authorized to make purchases.

“Have a PO assigned to the account, that only you know. Any customer that sees your receipt can get your account number/PIN, and can go to any store with it. I’ve seen shops have people close their accounts from other states. Have a PO assigned,” one TikTok commenter suggested.

“Request a photo authorization,” another recommended.

Other commenters on TikTok claimed they were able to provide AutoZone a list of names of people who could make purchases using their commercial account.

We’ve reached out to AutoZone via email and Hoeft via TikTok comment and Instagram direct message.

@innnoutonmainauto Has anybody else experienced fraudulent activity through their Autozone account?#autozone #innoutonmain #fraud #fyp #shopowner ♬ original sound – Kody Innoutonmain