An estimated 10,000 vehicles are on Tennessee roads that have tampered odometers. Changing the mileage on a car is one way con artists get folks to pay more than the vehicle is worth or to sell them a vehicle that is unsafe.

Kevin Walters, spokesman with the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, says often you can tell something might be off just by looking at the vehicle. "If the car looks like it is in a worse shape than what the odometer would suggest that the car would be in based on the mileage," he says. "That's a tip off that you might be dealing with someone who is tampering the odometer."

Other warning signs include numbers on dial odometers that aren't aligned evenly, or flashing numbers on digital odometers. In addition, if the vehicle identification number, or VIN, on the corner of the dashboard doesn't match that listed on the inside door jam, that is another sign. Walters adds odometer tampering is a criminal offense and if you suspect you've been a victim you should report it immediately to authorities.

The average car will accumulate 15,000 miles a year. If you are considering a used car and its mileage is considerably less than its age would indicate, it might be good to ask additional questions of the seller.

In Murfreesboro:

An odometer fraud victim filed a complaint with the Murfreesboro Police Department on Tuesday. The victim said that she bought a truck from an individual late last year. The 2005 model in question had 130,000 miles on it when she purchased the vehicle. When the woman went to sell the truck at an auto auction, a vehicle history report showed that the Toyota Tacoma was last reported to have 308,000 miles on it in 2012.

Source:

Partner Station WMSR

MPD Incident Report 16-4697