Vehicle Finance Fraud
Vehicle Finance Fraud Is Growing. NICB Is Fighting Back.
Vehicle thefts are down, but vehicle finance fraud continues to grow. Fraudsters use stolen, synthetic, and falsified identities. Borrowers misrepresent their income or employment. They then finance vehicles at dealerships or online that they never plan to pay for. Some of those vehicles are retitled and resold, while others are shipped overseas.
The losses impact lenders, dealerships, and insurers alike. According to Point Predictive, auto lending fraud exposure reached roughly $10.4 billion in 2025, nearly double what it was a decade ago.
How NICB Helps Stop Vehicle Finance Fraud
- Intelligence: NICB tracks emerging schemes, targeted vehicles, and regional trends, and shares findings with members through member-only intelligence reports. Login to access NICB intelligence reports.
- Investigations and recovery: Working with law enforcement nationwide, specifically U.S. Customs and Border Protection at high-traffic U.S. ports, NICB agents help identify stolen and fraudulently obtained vehicles before export and connect them back to members. In the Mid-Atlantic Region alone, these efforts have resulted in nearly $50 million in vehicle recoveries.
- Industry collaboration:
- The Vehicle Fraud & Crime Conference brings insurers, lenders, dealerships, and law enforcement together to share intelligence and strategies.
- NICB’s Vehicle Finance Fraud Quarterly Call gives members a forum to discuss emerging schemes and case insights with NICB experts.
- Training: Members can access on-demand Vehicle Finance Fraud training on NICTA.org and join live sessions through NICB’s FraudSmart webinar series.
- Advocacy: To combat vehicle finance fraud in an environment where no state defines it as a standalone crime, NICB’s Government Affairs team actively supports stronger identity theft laws, including Oklahoma’s new aggravated identity theft law, signed in 2026.
Join the Fight Against Vehicle Finance Fraud
Working together we can combat the growing impact of vehicle finance fraud. To learn more about our intelligence, training opportunities, or investigative support or to join an upcoming quarterly call, contact Kym Forester at kforester@nicb.org.
If your organization finances, sells, or writes auto insurance and isn’t a member, NICB can help. To learn about membership, contact membership@nicb.org.
Sign up to be notified when registration opens for the Vehicle Fraud & Crime Conference, May 4-5, 2027, in Denver.