Being a mechanic or car dealer is hard work, especially now. Juggling the variety of state and federal laws to just make an honest living can be complicated, especially for those without legal training. This is likely why the cases of fraud in this area are so high, not because there are more specific unscrupulous people in this industry, but that the laws that govern this sector are needlessly complicated. And, a recent study ranked states by the number of incidents of auto fraud.
General auto fraud statistics
In 2020 alone, there were over 120,000 cases of auto fraud. These included allegations of mechanic overcharges, unnecessary repairs and undone repairs. On the car dealership side, the allegations ranged from excessive interest rates, unnecessary or nonexistent products and misrepresenting credit scores and auto warranties.
The study
The study was done by 24/7 Wall St., who reviewed statistics compiled by Clearsurance, an insurance marketplace. They based their data on numbers released by the Federal Trade Commission. Then, 24/7 Wall St. ranked U.S. states based on their auto fraud cases, per capita.
The results
In the great state of Texas actually fell right in the middle, with about 164 auto fraud incidents per million Texans in 2020. This ranked us 19th lowest in the U.S., which accounted for about 4,700 cases in 2020. On the other end of the spectrum was Nevada with nearly 350 auto fraud incidents per million residents in 2020.
Charged with fraud
For those in the auto industry in Houston, Texas, it is very easy to be charged with fraud, even if they did not mean to do anything wrong. Simply miswriting something or a customer misunderstanding could lead to charges. And, those charges could mean the loss of professional licenses, sanctions and even civil penalties, which is why it is so important to take fraud issues seriously and fight them vigorously.