A Fake Repo Man Is Going Around Grand Rapids Stealing Cars

When you park somewhere you're not supposed to, you always run the risk of getting your car towed. Getting your car towed is the definition of a bad day and is a major hassle to try and get it back.

But imagine you park somewhere that's supposed to be safe, like your own driveway, and your car is towed away for no reason. That's what is happening around Grand Rapids, as multiple people on the r/GrandRapids subreddit are reporting a fake repo man going around taking people's cars right from their driveway.

Fake Repo Man

Reddit user Haunted_Charlie recently shared that he noticed his car being towed away by a pickup truck right out of his driveway. After calling his landlord, he learned someone was going around pretending to be a repo man and stealing people's cars. The user found his car in a church parking lot a few blocks away.

READ MORE: What To Do If Your Car Is Submerged In Water In Michigan

Users quickly took to the comments to express that this is a common scam that thieves use. According to the responses, thieves will take the car and leave it in a parking lot for a few days to see if the car is being tracked. If it is still there, they'll finish the theft. If it isn't there, they'll "move to the next victim".

A dirty move.

How To Keep Your Car Safe

While there are few ways to definitively prevent your car from being towed, there are a couple of ways to either ensure the tow is legal or to make your car a bit more difficult to tow:

• Michigan law states that all legal tows will leave a notice behind informing where the car was towed from, the towing company name, and where it was towed to.
• Engaging your emergency brake is the best way to make your car difficult to move.
• Parking with your wheels turned makes rear-wheel vehicles tougher to tow.
• Place a location-tracking device like Apple Airtags or Tile to find your car if it is ever stolen.

You can read about Michigan repossession laws if you are behind on your car payments, which could be a reason your car could be legally towed from your driveway.