Sometimes the latest technology can be a wonderful, smart thing, but criminals will find a way to be even smarter and exploit it to their advantage. Police in Seattle and Bellevue have confirmed that they are investigating several criminal cases that have involved car-sharing vehicles like LimePods and Car2Go.

Car-sharing vehicle apps work just like E-scooter apps. If you need to go somewhere but don't have a car, you can locate a car-sharing vehicle through an app on your phone and hop in it to drive within a certain boundary and time limit. At the end of the drive, you simply park the vehicle on a street and scan the car with your smartphone to tell the app where you left it. Users have to upload their name, email address, driver's license information, and credit card information to the app to be able to rent a car-sharing vehicle, and some of the companies even require a background check before approving users.

But ever since these car-sharing vehicle companies have moved into Seattle and the surrounding areas, police have reported crimes involving mail theft, package theft, theft, hit-and-runs, and firearm transportation. In July a security camera caught an image of a LimePod parked in front of a Bellevue house where a package had been stolen, and the police traced the LimePod back to the package thief's house. Another man in Seattle claimed three people in a LimePod tried to run him over.

Crimes Not Limited to Seattle

Back in April, Car2Go lifted its background check requirement in an effort to compete with LimePod, because LimePod offers same-day approval for drivers. Almost immediately, 75 Car2Go high-end vehicles (Mercedes Benzes) were stolen in Chicago. All of the stolen Mercedes were eventually returned to Car2Go, but many had been stripped of parts or totaled altogether. Car2Go also reported that in Chicago, many legitimate users were creating accounts and then turning around and renting the cars out at inflated prices, stashing away the money.

Defense Attorney Steve Karimi

If you rented a car-sharing vehicle in the Seattle area and were in the wrong place at the wrong time and have now been accused of a crime you did not commit, you need a strong defense. Contact the Law Offices of Steve Karimi at 206-621-8777 or use the contact form to learn how Steve Karimi can help you.