The RCMP have announced the bust of a car fraud ring based out of HRM whose scams have had a far reach across Canada and the U.S. The investigation has been on-going for the past six years.

The Chronicle-Herald reports that Timothy Dooley, 52, of Dartmouth; Stephen Fredericks, 49, of Dartmouth; Dale Bourassa, 59, of Mt. Uniacke; and Dalton Cain, 34, of North Preston have all been remanded into custody, facing numerous counts of fraud and possession of stolen property.

The article states that both Dooley and Bourassa were listed as used car salesmen in small claims court documents from 2009, but the name of the dealerships in Dartmouth where they operated out of were not disclosed. 

The four men allegedly ran the scheme by acquiring and registering vehicle identification numbers (VINs) for cars they hadn't purchased and then allegedly putting in false insurance claims, saying the vehicles had been stolen. 

Read the full article here and tell us your thoughts Haligonia: http://www.thechronicleherald.ca/metro/37740-haligonians-among-victims-huge-car-scam

The article mentions the growing accessibility to VIN numbers through online sales websites and vehicle advertisements. What measures can be improved to protect this kind of information available online in order to safe-guard buyers from fraud?