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Documents - their alteration, substitution or complete inadequacy,
play an important part in truck, trailer and cargo thefts.
One strategy of thieves utilizes "return to factory" slips, which
indicated the equipment in question has been returned to the
manufacturer because of some defect. An example is four new tractors
lined up on a dock awaiting shipment to a foreign country. Through
connivance of a dock employee, "return to factory" slips were made
out on each tractor. In the ensuing confusion, the trucks were
stolen, dismantled or sold before they were missed.
Documents can also be used to conceal the identity of stolen tractors
and trailers. If the dismantling method of operation is not used,
most commercial vehicle thieves resort to the salvage operation - a
document and identity manipulation used quite frequently by auto
thieves.
Here you place the identity of a wrecked vehicle on a similar make and
model stolen vehicle. The license vehicle ID and documents are then
used to exhibit "valid" title to the stolen unit. There are other
means of obtaining legitimate appearing papers for stolen trucks and
trailers, usch as "non-title" state registrations and counterfeit
titles, but their cases are in the minority.
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