Ombudsman Ángel Gabilondo asks the DGT (Directorate General of Traffic) to protect victims of vehicle ownership fraud: the same person can have 4 or 5 vehicles in their name without knowing it.

Just over a year ago, we reported on the case of a person who unknowingly had 17 vehicles in his name. His identity had been stolen, and through falsification of a public document, these vehicles had been registered in his name, some of which had allegedly been used to commit robberies and thefts.

The investigation that led to the arrest of the perpetrators began when the Catalan Traffic Service (SCT) informed the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan Police) that a person had filed a statement of allegations stating that someone had registered four vehicles in his name without his permission, and that he had also received several reports for traffic violations he hadn't committed. In the end, they discovered that he owned not four but 17 vehicles.

This situation is more common than it seems. So much so that even the Ombudsman, Ángel Gabilondo, has issued recommendations to the Directorate General of Traffic (DGT) to prevent it from happening and protect victims. This institution has received numerous complaints denouncing the difficulties victims face in deregistering a vehicle that was transferred to them without their consent, highlighting the serious consequences of having unknown vehicles in their name. In some cases, four or five vehicles are fraudulently registered to the same person.

Gabilondo proposes adopting preventive measures to ensure the authenticity and validity of the identity documents provided in vehicle ownership change applications, and to verify the applicant's express consent. He advocates for coordination with other departments of the Ministry of the Interior to verify the authenticity and validity of the identity document presented by the applicant in the application process. He also suggests implementing a change notification system to ensure that the applicant has initiated or authorized the process.

The institution also recommends that, once identity theft is detected, further transfers of vehicles in the victim's name be prevented and that the victim be prevented from being charged the Motor Vehicle Tax or other fees resulting from the procedures the victim must complete with the DGT as a result of identity theft. It also proposes establishing alerts to prevent the initiation of disciplinary proceedings against the victim in relation to fraudulently transferred vehicles and calls for facilitating the deregistration of such vehicles.

Furthermore, the Ombudsman has also issued a recommendation to the State Attorney General's Office to urge the Judicial Police to identify the perpetrators of the fraud, locate the vehicle's owners, and verify the title they claim for legal ownership.

The Traffic Department informs that, in the miDGT app and in the private area of the DGT's Electronic Office, citizens can consult all the information the agency has on the vehicles in their name. Users can access a list of all the vehicles they own and, within each one, check the identification, technical, or administrative data for their vehicles, such as whether their insurance is up to date, when their next MOT is due, or whether they have a designated regular driver.