JACKSONVILLE, Ark. (KTHV) -- Key swap is a common method used by auto theft rings to target car dealerships. Police believe it's operating out of Pine Bluff and spreading in central Arkansas.
It’s a growing problem costing car dealerships thousands of dollars.
Detective Hicks with the Jacksonville Police Department said that they act fast and they’ll have the VIN number swapped out and the car repainted in a day.
“One of them will distract the salesman while the other one will put a dummy key on the ring. They turn the keys back in to the dealer and that night they’ll come back with the key and drive off with the vehicle,” said Detective Hicks.
He says most of these criminals are inside sources.
“Most of them work in used cars, it's kind of a front for their operation, so they'll have a number of keys on hand that they can put in their pocket and switch out when the dealers not looking.”
Mike Tanner says he didn't have any suspicion that the thieves were there to steal a car because they looked like regular customers.
“While the hood was up and I was completely blind to what he was doing he must have swapped the keys.”
General Manager Jamie Miller says Gwatney is now taking extra precautions to prevent this from happening again.
Jacksonville police say one of the main red flags to look out for is if a person refuses to give their ID for test driving a vehicle.