VIN swaps can be done by taking the VIN of a totaled car, and using it on another vehicle and registering it as "rebuilt/salvage" - I'm sure they're other ways, but that's the most common afaik
But shouldn't that be relatively easy to check? I mean, how many cars are actually rebuilt/salvaged per year. If Portland alone has 10,000 thefts per year, throughout the U.S. most rebuild/salvaged cars would have to be stolen.
