"I Located A Beautiful Chevy 4×4 Truck That Sounded Perfect: Low Miles, Great Condition, Etc." ―Until CARFAX Revealed A Hidden Scam That Even They Occasionally Miss On Their Car History Reports

According to a recent CARFAX report, an estimated 2.14 million cars on the road could have had their odometer rolled back this year, "…up more than 18% since 2021, and up more than 82,000 vehicles from just last year," states the report.

These figures come from a recent update from CARFAX automotive experts, who have their finger on the pulse of this important scam that costs used car shoppers thousands of dollars and untold grief when they fall for what, on the surface, looks like a good used car deal.

Related article: This Dealership Recently Caught Scamming Car Buyers with Odometer Fraud

Odometer Rollbacks Are On The Rise

"Odometer rollbacks can occur when an unscrupulous owner or seller of a car alters the miles that display on a car's gauge cluster," said Faisal Hasan, Vice President of Data and Public Policy at CARFAX. "This might be done as a way to avoid mileage charges in a vehicle lease or to dramatically increase the value of a car. Today's technology makes rolling an odometer back easier than ever." It can take a bad actor just seconds to roll back an odometer, causing unsuspecting buyers to lose an average of $4,000 in value, CARFAX found, not to mention the additional costs of unexpected repairs and potential safety risks," states the report.

As an example of how one used car shopper almost fell for an odometer scam, they provided his testimony:

"I located a beautiful Chevy 4×4 Truck that sounded perfect: Low miles, great condition, etc. When I ran the CARFAX on the vehicle, I discovered the truck had approximately 180,000 miles rather than the 108,000 stated," said Jimmy Hendon, a driver in Atlanta. "The mileage was so far off from the accurate mileage that it was crazy. CARFAX saved me thousands of dollars and no telling how many headaches."

However, CARFAX cannot catch all odometer fraud cases.

Your Best Protection Against Odometer Fraud

While CARFAX is effective and provides a very useful and important service to used car shoppers, many cars with manipulated odometers slip past their databanks.

That said, the best protection is knowing the many ways odometer fraud is perpetuated and why even services like CARFAX are not immune to all of them.

To gain that necessary knowledge, here is a handy and informative video from CNBC that clues used car shoppers into what law enforcement officers are facing regarding tracking down and slowing the tide of incoming used cars with their odometers rolled back.

In the video, you will learn:

1. It is not just some curb-stoning scuzzball committing this crime, but also everyday car lease customers who try to "beat the system" by avoiding penalty fees when their leased vehicle exceeds its mileage limit.
2. The easy accessibility of buying inexpensive tools used for stealthy odometer manipulation, which is often untraceable.
3. How used vehicles are selected for odometer rollback that will not show up in a CARFAX history report.
4. There is actually no odometer today that cannot be rolled back.
5. Service records used to show a vehicle's repair and mileage history are obsolete with the latest tools, called "mileage blockers," that allow car owners to control their vehicles' odometers with an app on their smartphones.

How Odometer Fraud Became A $1 Billion Problem

The Top 10 States and Their Odometer Fraud Numbers

If you are shopping for a used car in any of these ten states listed in the CARFAX report or discover that the vehicle was originally from any of those states and is now being sold in your home state, you will want to be especially cautious with the purchase.

The best way is to pay a mechanic or a knowledgeable DIY mechanic to examine the car for signs and performance parameters that show a car is not showing its true odometer age.

According to the state list from CARFAX, "Nine of the Top 10 states with the most vehicles with rolled back odometers saw an increase this year. Virginia saw the biggest spike last year, at nearly 11.7%, followed by Arizona, up 8.0%, and Florida, up 6.4%."

Here are the recently updated figures they uncovered in decreasing order of the number of rollback cases this past year from each state:

#1. California―484,500, Up 3.3%

#2. Texas―294,200, Up 6.2%

#3. New York―97,400, Down 2.8%

#4. Florida―90,900, Up 6.4%

#5. Illinois―79,200, Up 0.2%

#6. Georgia―70,400, Up 1.1%

#7. Pennsylvania―70,300, Up 3.9%

#8. Virginia―63,400, Up 11.7%

#9. Arizona―60,200, Up 8.0 %

#10. N. Carolina―51,000, Up 3.6%

For additional hidden secrets that could be inside your next potential used car purchase, here are three related articles that show just how careful you have to be:

1. Concealed Collision Damage and Car Seller Impersonator Scams
2. An Important Used Car Hidden Damage Warning for Used Car Shoppers
3. Common Hidden Problems When Your Car Hits a Curb

Timothy Boyer is an automotive reporter based in Cincinnati who currently researches and works on restoring older vehicles with engine modifications for improved performance. He also reports on modern cars (including EVs) with a focus on DIY mechanics, buying and using tools, and other related topical automotive repair news. Follow Tim on Twitter at @TimBoyerWrites as well as on Facebook and his automotive blog "Zen and the Art of DIY Car Repair" for useful daily news and topics related to new and used cars and trucks.

COMING UP NEXT: "Why I Left Toyota" ―Former Toyota Mechanic Shares What It Is Like Drinking the Dealership Kool-Aid

Image Source: Deposit Photos