North Shore woman confronts couple using tow truck to steal car after ownership scam

A North Shore woman is speaking up about a bizarre incident involving a woman wearing little more than hot pink underwear trying to steal her car from outside her house using a tow truck.

The underdressed woman and her male accomplice were caught in the act earlier this week, after weeks of planning and some online trickery almost paid off.

Kayla, who did not want her last name used, shared some of her story online, revealing that a number plate and wheel were removed from her car in the weeks leading up to the tow truck incident.

Kayla said she stopped the attempted theft on Wednesday morning after hearing a tow truck outside her house.

She raced outside and asked the tow truck driver what was going on and was told he was towing the car for its owners - a young woman and older man sitting nearby in a "dirty Honda Accord".

After explaining the situation to the driver he refused to proceed with towing Kayla's Mazda Axela, despite protests from the pair that they were legal owners after purchasing it three weeks ago.

Kayla said she challenged them to provide proof and they could not. She described their behaviour as jittery and said she believed they were "1000 per cent under the influence of meth".

"They had meth face," she told the Herald.

"The guy had no teeth".

She then approached the young woman as she sat in the car.

"I rip the car door open, throw my leg up, not letting her get out and I was like 'you're trying to steal my f***ing car'," she said.

As Kayla called police she said the woman started "freaking out".

Kayla also revealed the would-be thief's unusual choice of attire.

"She's not wearing pants. She's wearing bright pink undies and a shirt. No pants".

The offender came underdressed. Photo / Getty Images

The Herald asked Kayla if she was sure that this was not a booty shorts situation, but she said she was sure.

"They were literally pink, hot pink undies, cotton undies," she told the Herald.

She said it was a cool, rainy morning. "You can't even put pants on for your mission?"

Kayla said she walked away after the male approached her and she backed off.

"I'm not ready for a fight with some crackheads," Kayla said.

The pair then fled, speeding off as the tow truck driver apologised and explained what had happened.

The woman had changed the ownership of the car online, shortly after the number plate was stolen three weeks ago.

Then a wheel was stolen, leaving the car stuck in place.

She said the stolen wheel had been refitted by the morning that the tow truck arrived.

A further check of the car showed the ignition was damaged but the immobiliser prevented it being moved, hence the need for a tow truck.

Kayla shared her story online to warn others about the practice. Photo /TikTok/@kaylasylviajayne

A towing industry insider spoken to by the Herald said they had seen a recent rise in people trying to steal cars by changing the ownership online and had started putting in more security measures to prevent themselves being unwittingly used by thieves.

Kayla had a message for the pantsless would-be thief.

"Thanks for trying to steal my car. If you're trying to be a criminal, at least be a smart criminal. Don't try and steal a car that's right outside someone's house. Are you serious?"

She told the Herald that the brazen nature of the attempted crime and the pantsless way in which it was carried out indicated it was fuelled by drug use.

"How does your brain get to that?"

Kayla said that she had the female scammer's driver licence details because she had to provide them to the tow truck company - and that information was passed to police.

A police spokesperson said that police were aware of the incident and "continue to follow positive lines of enquiry".

They said police encourage motorists to get on board with their Safer Plates Initiative and attend a demonstration to learn the use of specially designed screws to secure the number plates onto your vehicle.

"The screws act as a deterrent for offenders, and reduce the chances of your number plate being stolen," the spokesperson said.

"We encourage members of the community to keep an eye out for the next demonstration, and to come along."

Since going public, she has received messages from others who had been targeted in similar scams and said the online car ownership system was too open to abuse.

She advised motorists to make their number plates more difficult to steal and to have an immobiliser but said: "What can you really do if someone's going to tow your car?"