SoCal drivers say group is tampering with cars to force sales at lower prices 2023.9.29……【Press】【U.S.】The men seem to be working together to distract sellers while simultaneously ruining their cars
➤【美国】假看车真破坏降车价 诈骗手法升级
洛杉矶县科罗那市（Corona）近期发生汽车诈骗案，3男子以看车为名搞破坏降低二手车价。据苦主埃尔南德斯（Art Hernandez）表示，事发时，他们将车主引到车辆后部，同伙则趁机在车前引擎盖处破坏，一名嫌犯甚至向引擎灌油引发冒烟，迫使车主同意低价出售，事后通过监视画面才惊觉受骗。在摄像头画面可以看到，两名嫌犯转移车主的注意力，而第三名嫌犯则趁机破坏引擎。目前警方已介入调查，并呼吁公众保持警惕，建议车主不要独自应对类似情况。
苦主埃尔南德斯（Art Hernandez）表示，事发当时，一名诈骗嫌犯要求他去汽车后部，其他两人趁机在前引擎盖处搞损坏导致引擎冒烟，最终迫使他同意以400元出售汽车。但事后才发现，这些人通过损坏汽车来降低售价。
埃尔南德斯随即报案并提供相关证据，希望能够帮助到其他潜在的受害者。他特别指出，这三名男子是因为他在Craigslist上刊登的汽车出售广告才来到他的住处。
此外，埃尔南德斯也指出，摄像头画面清楚显示其中一名嫌犯似乎以干扰汽车的电缆，拆卸一个电子感测器的连接，导致汽车引擎灯亮起。他还指称这些嫌犯在引擎上洒油，导致烟雾四起，并向地面泼洒油渍，造成汽车漏油的假象等。因此，他不得不同意对方提出的400元购车价。
在埃尔南德斯报案并提供录象证据后，当地警方已将此案列为重要犯罪事件。

SoCal drivers say group is tampering with cars to force sales at lower prices
The men seem to be working together to distract sellers while simultaneously ruining their cars
Published September 28, 2023 • Updated on September 29, 2023 at 12:43 pm

A group of thieves may be cheating people in Southern California out of thousands of dollars by sabotaging their cars in order to trick victims into selling the vehicles for a lower price.

Surveillance video captured the group of three apparently tampering with the engine of an SUV that a Corona man was selling. At least one other man said the trio swindled him out of thousands of dollars too.

Art Hernandez recently advertised his 2002 Toyota Highlander for $3,000 on Craigslist. “I was meticulous about keeping up on the maintenance records. The thing ran great,” he said.

Three men quickly answered his ad, but when they showed up at his Corona home, Hernandez said something strange happened: the car began leaking oil, the “check engine” light came on and the vehicle was barely drivable.

“The guy says, ‘Look’ – he’s pointing down at the oil spill – he says something happened. So, we open up the hood and sure enough, the car is juts smoking and and there is oil all over the top,” Hernandez said.

Shocked, Hernandez couldn’t understand what happened to his SUV, which he said was running perfectly fine before the men showed up. It wasn’t until he looked at his surveillance video that he said he realized the three men had sabotaged his engine.

Hernandez said that after opening the hood, one man told him to go to the back of the SUV to look at something.

“Well, these other guys in the front – one goes and unsnaps the engine coolant reservoir, that plastic reservoir, and then the guy with the gray shirt, you can see him in the video, he reaches into his pocket; he pulls out a bottle of oil,” Hernandez said. “And you could see him going over and pouring inside the coolant reservoir, and then he reaches over and then he pours it on the engine.”

It didn’t stop there. Hernandez said one of the men also reached back into the engine compartment and disconnected some electronics, which he suspects is what caused his “check engine” light to turn on.

Hernandez said the men told him the engine must have been blown, but they still wanted to buy the Highlander for $400, since one of them said he was a mechanic and could fix the issue. That, Hernandez said, should have been a red flag.

After realizing he’d been duped, Hernandez said, he posted pictures of the men on Craigslist all over Southern California and got calls from other people claiming the same men did the same thing to them.

Carlos Salazar, who lives in Chatsworth, said he was one of those other victims. “I lost a lot of money – same as this guy,” Salazar said.

Salazar said the same men cheated him out of $3,000. He showed a picture of one of the men, who was an arm tattoo similar to the man in Hernandez’s surveillance video.

Hernandez gave that video and the Arizona plate number of the minivan the men were driving to Corona police, hoping they will eventually be arrested.

“They need to go to jail. They need some serious consequences because they are out there right now,” Hernandez said.

Any other potential victims are asked to contact Corona police.