Tina Hansen had a sweet plan: surprise her son with a car for his 17th birthday. Instead, she watched surveillance footage of it being towed away in seven minutes flat, and learned it had already been scrapped before police could do anything about it.
The Greenfield, Wisconsin woman is now one of at least three victims identified by Milwaukee’s TMJ4 News who found themselves in the same gut-punch situation: their stolen vehicles were sold to scrapyards and crushed before law enforcement could intervene. What makes Hansen’s case especially infuriating is how little it took to pull off. The thief did not need a car title. Did not need the keys. Did not even need to know how to hotwire anything. All it took was a handwritten note, a fake signature, and a valid ID — and for that, she walked away with $300.
Surveillance footage obtained by the Greenfield Police Department shows a tow truck pulling into Hansen’s apartment complex parking lot on March 17 and leaving with her red Toyota Camry just seven minutes later. Seven. The whole operation was faster than most people’s coffee orders. Hansen did not even know the car was gone until she went looking for it, and at first was not sure if it had been towed by the property manager for some reason. It had not been.
By the time she reported the theft the following morning and police tracked down the tow truck driver, the car had already been sold to a scrapyard on Mill Road. Then it was crushed. The birthday gift was gone, and a loophole in Wisconsin state law had made the whole thing perfectly — and legally — seamless for the thief.
How the Theft Actually Worked, and Why It Was So Easy
Here is the part that raises the most eyebrows: under Wisconsin law, a handwritten bill of sale is all a tow truck driver needs to legally purchase a vehicle and turn it over to a scrapyard. As long as the seller shows a valid ID alongside that bill of sale, the transaction is considered above board. No title required. No verification of ownership. Just a piece of paper and a driver’s license.
The thief, police say, wrote a bogus bill of sale and forged Hansen’s signature on it. She also apparently knew Hansen’s name, which investigators believe she got from the registration papers left inside the glove compartment. Hansen still had her keys and the actual title certificate in hand when this was all happening – and none of that mattered one bit, legally speaking.
“It gives you goosebumps thinking that someone’s pretending to be you,” Hansen said. For $300 worth of scrap metal, the thief dismantled a mother’s birthday surprise and walked away without even needing to break much of a sweat.
Police Say the Scrapyard and Tow Truck Driver Are Not to Blame
As maddening as it sounds, investigators determined that neither the tow truck driver nor the scrapyard acted illegally. Both parties appear to have followed the existing rules exactly as written. The tow truck driver was told the seller owned the vehicle and wanted cash. A bill of sale was presented. An ID was shown. Transaction complete.
Hansen was understandably skeptical about how few questions were asked. “The whole thing was a bunch of red flags,” she said. “I don’t understand why he bought it from her in the first place.” But under current Wisconsin law, there was no obligation to dig deeper. The scrapyard has declined to comment on the situation, and TMJ4’s attempts to reach the tow truck company went unanswered.
The case is now heading toward charges against the suspect who actually stole and forged the documents, according to Greenfield Police. But the broader problem – that the system made this so easy to do – is what has Hansen and others calling for change.
Wisconsin Lawmakers on Both Sides Are Taking Notice
The story has caught the attention of legislators across party lines, which is not always easy to do in today’s political climate. Representative Bob Donovan, a Greenfield Republican, put it plainly: a tow truck driver should need an actual title before taking a vehicle to be scrapped, not just a piece of paper anyone can write up at home.
Democrats have echoed similar concerns. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation, following TMJ4’s investigative reporting on multiple victims, has said it is now looking into the issue and considering next steps. That is a start, though Hansen and others in her position are hoping “considering next steps” turns into actual legislation sooner rather than later.
Hansen’s ask is straightforward: require a physical title to scrap a vehicle. Without that, there is nothing to stop someone from walking up to any car, scribbling a fake name on a notepad, showing their ID, and cashing in. The barrier to committing this crime, as things currently stand, is almost nonexistent.
What This Whole Mess Can Teach the Rest of Us
Even if you are nowhere near Wisconsin, this case is worth paying attention to, because title laws and scrapyard regulations vary by state and many have similar gaps. A few practical takeaways:
Never leave your vehicle registration in the glove compartment. Hansen’s case illustrates exactly why: her name was almost certainly harvested from those papers, giving the thief just enough information to forge a convincing bill of sale. Keep registration in your wallet or a secure spot at home.
Consider a GPS tracker or AirTag for your vehicle. In fact, a previous TMJ4 case in this same series involved a Milwaukee couple who tracked their crushed car using AirPods they had left inside. Tracking devices do not always save the day, but they can at least give you a head start in reporting and recovery.
Know your state’s laws around vehicle titling and scrap. If your state does not require a title to scrap a car, that is a vulnerability worth knowing about – and possibly advocating to change.
And if you are buying or selling a used car privately, always insist on a proper title transfer. The handwritten bill of sale that feels fine in casual transactions is also the exact document that can be faked in about five minutes.
Hansen’s son did not get his birthday car. But if her story pushes Wisconsin – and other states watching – to close this loophole, that is a pretty significant consolation prize for everyone else on the road.