Watch out for truck scams! Drivers are getting tricked into buying stolen trucks and SUVs all over the nation. A Las Vegas man is out $53,000 after buying a used GMC Sierra that had a VIN swap scam. 

Las Vegas man loses $53,000 for buying a stolen GMC Sierra 

Sharman Habibian of Las Vegas thought he scored a great deal on the Facebook Marketplace. He jumped on a GMC Sierra that was almost brand new for only $53,000. 

However, he was being scammed. Now he doesn’t have the truck or money because he paid in cash for the stolen truck. 

Habibian was cautious before handing over the cash. He checked the truck’s title and matched the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). 

Then he was in for a surprise at the DMV while getting a VIN inspection. Suddenly police cars rolled up with their lights on. 

That’s when Habibian learned that he had a stolen GMC truck. His truck was part of a VIN swap scam. This occurs when a thief swaps a vehicle’s VIN with a legitimate one to finalize a sale. 

The truck was a VIN-switched stolen vehicle, so it had to be impounded as evidence. According to Yahoo, the police had to seize it, leaving Habibian with nothing. 

But because Habibian was so careful during the sales negotiation, he was able to lead the cops directly to the seller. 

The seller used a fake ID during the sale but it gave police officers a solid lead. The 22-year-old scammer was arrested three days later and charged with two felonies. 

Even though justice was served, Habibian is still out of luck. His money wasn’t recovered. This story serves as a reminder to be careful. His DMV gets about three VIN swap cases per week.