Our car has also been recently 'stolen' by Danny's Towing. My husband rented a car from the Avis in Jersey City and left the car next to the tram stop that is situated near the Bed Bath and Beyond and some big supermarket, it also happened to be near the house where we live. He went to collect me and 10 minutes later when we came back, we did not find the car, but there was a Danny's Towing guy who swiftly approached us and informed us that our car was taken away.
1) How did he know it was us who left car 10 min ago?
2) It seems he has been hanging around waiting for us to return.
3) They did not want credit cards but only cash.
4) They told us that there is a supermarket camera that records what is happening at the parking lots next to it and that they called them and asked to remove our car.
Now, this is what I observed later (as I work from home and can see the parking area where our car was stolen).
There are two guys operate the scheme - one sits in a private car and drives around the parking area closer to tram lines where very few people park. He circles around and around watching who and what type of cars park there. As soon as he sees a car that he thinks is a good target parked in the space he observes, he waits for the owner to leave and then approaches the car and gives a call to his accomplice who has his truck just around the corner. So the truck guy brakes into the car (I actually saw how they do it with a special device), mounts it on the truck and drives quickly away. The other guy stays and hangs around either waiting for the owner to return or to see what other cars he can steal.
Now, they operate in a certain area of the car park only - away from the major supermarket car park. The area where it is easier to remove cars and the area where there are fewer people.
Anyone who happens to park their cars for a short time near the tram trucks should be aware of this scheme.
It is better to park where there are plenty of cars and witnesses.
I hope they will be eventually punished. I think what they do is illegal - 1) they are breaking in into a private property 2) they steal private property without any legal written notification or warning.
I have travelled a lot and have never seen anything like that!
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