How to Avoid Buying Stolen Property

A Corvette for $5,000 less than Blue Book. A plasma TV for half what it costs at Best Buy. Gold jewelry for pennies on the dollar.

You want to take the deal, and it's possible that the seller is for real, but you have your worries that something might be wrong. It could be stolen property, and buying stolen property is risky. Besides being illegal, there's a good chance the item is listed in public records, like police reports, so you could have a hard time reselling it, and the owner might show up someday to reclaim what's his, leaving you out of pocket with nothing to show for it.

The best way to avoid buying stolen property is still the old way - instinct. If the serial numbers of an item have been removed, changed or scratched out; the paperwork and/or owner's manuals are missing; and, the seller gets nervous when you ask where he got the item, you probably are going to get suspicious, and with good reason. Walk away.

Stolen property listed online

But if you live in Texas or Florida, or plan to buy an item from one of those states through eBay or another site, you don't have to rely only on instinct any more. Those states offer public records databases that allow anyone to find out whether an item is stolen property. You can also use the databases if you suspect someone else is trying to sell property stolen from you.

Texas offers the service through Trace.com, a private Internet company. According to the company, it works with the state's Department of Public Safety and 500 local police and sheriff's departments. In 2006, Texas had more than 215,000 burglaries a year, nearly 650,000 thefts and about 96,000 cars stolen, the FBI reports.

When an owner has something stolen in Texas and reports it to the police, he can get the case number from public records and log on to Trace.com. There, the owner puts in the case number, the name of the investigator, a description of the stolen property, including the serial number, if possible, and even a photo. The site does not list automobiles, however.

You have to register with Trace.com to perform a search, but it's a quick, simple process. Once in, just go to the search screen. The seller, if legitimate, should have had no problem supplying you with the serial number of the item, and you can search the site by SN, or by description. For example, type "TV" in the search box, and you'll get pages of stolen property listings, some with very specific descriptions, some with generic information.

If you spot stolen property, you can simply exit the system and walk away from the deal, or you can click a link that makes a report to police. The site will log your IP and include it in the report, so keep that in mind. Do not try to take any action on your own.

Florida database

Florida's public records system is similar, although the Florida Department of Law Enforcement runs the site, instead of a private company. Law enforcement agencies throughout the state report stolen property information - the FBI shows nearly a half-million thefts a year - to FDLE, and it is listed in the Public Access System in categories such as guns, cars, boats and license plates.

You don't have to register to use the site, but unfortunately, you can only search by serial number, or by any number engraved on the item. There is no option for searching by general item type, or by description. If you find a stolen item on the site, it's up to you to report it to the agency handling the case.

Remember, though, not every piece of stolen property is going to get listed in either state, so just because you don't find anything in public records doesn't mean that the item isn't stolen.

You may have to decide for yourself whether the deal is a steal.