What does "cloned VIN" mean?

A cloned vehicle is a car that has had its VIN modified or tampered to match the VIN of another vehicle.

This is typically done to mask the VIN of a stolen vehicle. A cloned vehicle that has had its VIN changed can be seized by police. As CARFAX Canada is a VIN reporting service, it will report all available information on the VIN, including any information available on the cloned VIN.

If you have a CARFAX Canada Vehicle History Report with registration (and/or title), service, damage history (typically from the U.S.) that you believe to be incorrect, please see: I believe information on my CARFAX Canada Vehicle History Report is inaccurate. What do I do?

If your VIN is confirmed to have been cloned, a cloned VIN alert will be added to the vehicle’s history. In the event your VIN has been cloned, there are steps the owner must take to have the cloned VIN’s title/registration records revoked/canceled by the issuing state DMV.