Tesla Owners Club of Austin member Gail Alfar shared to CleanTechnica a letter that tells her to register for a Vehicle Theft Location and Recovery service that will supposedly enable authorities to track her vehicle in the event of theft.
No such thing as a Tesla dealership
The letter may look like official mail, but a closer look reveals it was sent to scam people. For one, it mentioned “Tesla dealership.” Unlike other car brands that distribute their vehicles through dealerships, Tesla removed the middle man and directly sells its electric cars to customers. Back in 2012, Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk explained to justify the company’s approach to distributing cars:
Other red flags
Alfar said that other members of her car group received a similar mail. She said that there is concern among club members that it could be a privacy issue. Besides the fraudulent letter arriving in the mail, Alfar said people also keep receiving emails. The letter shows it came from the National Theft Search and Recovery (NTSR), but the supposed address of NTSR’s Registration Center in Amarillo, Texas, turns out to be non-existent. The phone number is also linked to scam complaints on the internet. A discussion on Tesla’s website reveals that the mail scam goes back to as early as 2016.
Concern for vulnerable people
While some people may do further research when receiving these kinds of mail, Alfar said that her husband is concerned that vulnerable people may fall for the scam.
