Back in 1992, U.S. lawmakers were worried about auto theft and fraud--specifically, the resale of vehicles that had such extensive damage that insurance companies had written them off and ordered their destruction. Criminals were getting a hold of these vehicles, making cosmetic repairs, and "washing" the damage information from the vehicle history report, often by registering the vehicle in a different state. The result: Used car buyers were unknowingly purchasing vehicles that were too dangerous to drive. The lawmakers had an idea. Every car has a unique vehicle identification number, or VIN. What if there were a single, nationwide database that contained the VIN of every end-of-life vehicle? Then state titling agencies, law enforcement officers, and car buyers could look up the car's VIN and find its history, regardless of in which state it was registered. The Anti Car Theft Act of 1992 mandated the establishment of such a database.
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