Oregon Driver and Motor Vehicles Services is warning Oregonians about a new scam using fake Manufacturer Certificates of Origin to obtain titles for stolen vehicles. An MCO is a document that certifies the original ownership of a vehicle. It’s issued by the manufacturer when a vehicle is produced and contains information like the make, model, year and vehicle identification number.

Crooks are creating fake VINs that appear to be legitimate and adding them to counterfeit Manufacturer Certificates of Origin created by either altering printed information on a genuine certificate or by creating a completely fake version downloaded from the internet. A fake certificate often lists the manufacturer’s name and an out-of-state dealer or distributor as the first buyer.

To determine if your VIN is legitimate, you should:

Run the VIN through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recall site. This will show if the VIN on the certificate is one issued by the manufacturer. If no VIN is found, you will get an error message meaning the VIN was not issued by that manufacturer. This search is free.
Research the vehicle history through the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System, a consumer protection database that provides title information from states across the country. Only use an approved National Motor Vehicle Title Information System data provider. These sites will generally charge a nominal fee.
If you suspect the certificate or VIN is fraudulent, Oregon DMV recommends you contact the dealer that originally purchased the vehicle from the manufacturer (listed as the buyer on the back or distributor on the front of the certificate) to determine if the vehicle transaction, certificate and VIN are genuine. If the dealer or distributor cannot confirm they purchased the vehicle from the manufacturer, the certificate is probably fake.

If you’re buying a vehicle from someone other than a certified dealer, always take a photo of the seller’s identification and get their contact information. If they have another vehicle – write down or take a photo of the plate on that vehicle.

Oregon DMV is also warning of fraudulent dealerships being set up, giving the appearance of being a legitimate certified dealer. The DMV website provides a look-up tool to verify if the business is a certified dealer DMV strongly urges you to check the website before doing any business with a vehicle dealer in Oregon. You should also verify the person you are dealing with is an employee of the dealership.

For more information, visit Oregon DMV’s dealer web page.