HOUSTON \u2013 A Houston woman who rents out cars through her private rental company found her stolen vehicle sitting in another family\u2019s driveway \u2014 sold to them with a forged title.<\/p>\n
Brionte Shurn said what started as a routine rental quickly turned into a nightmare involving a fake ID, a stolen car and a family who unknowingly paid $7,000 for a vehicle that wasn\u2019t for sale.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo me it seemed like a normal instance. I rented out my Toyota Camry, 2018 Toyota Camry. I rented it out to what I believed was \u2014 Jasmine Williams is how she presented herself,\u201d Shurn said.<\/p>\n
Tracker leads owner to stolen car<\/p>\n
Shurn said Williams never returned the car. Shurn said she waited as long as she could for Williams. She added that Williams\u2019 communication was excellent in the beginning of the rental process. <\/p>\n
\u201cTwo days of non-communication, I decided to drive to the location of the car. All cars of mine are activated with trackers, kill switches and stuff like that. I did activate the kill switch,\u201d Shurn said.<\/p>\n
When Shurn arrived, she found her Toyota Camry in a family\u2019s driveway. The family, who did not speak English, told her they had purchased the car just four days earlier for $7,000.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hate to hear that, because this is my car,\u201d Shurn said.<\/p>\n
Shurn called 911, and officers were able to help her recover the vehicle \u2014 even though the family presented police with a title to the car.<\/p>\n
\u201cI called 911. 911 was able to help me recover my vehicle. They had a title. They presented police officers with a title to a car that I owned,\u201d Shurn said.<\/p>\n
Shurn said the family was not aware of the fraud.<\/p>\n
Fake titles more common than you think<\/p>\n
Harris County Constable Precinct 4 told KPRC 2 fake titles are more common than people realize in the Houston area.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe police told me that they will investigate, that it is a serious issue. It\u2019s a title fraud issue, a serious issue, theft,\u201d Shurn said.<\/p>\n
This is not a typical problem for Shurn\u2019s rental business: Easy Rentals in Houston.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot like that. I have had some late payers, some people that haven\u2019t returned the car in time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Shurn said she approaches her customers with empathy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t always been a law-abiding citizen. I have a background. I have a criminal history, but I have changed my life. I understand the struggles between the two. I understand the battles to get to point A and point B,\u201d Shurn said.<\/p>\n
How to protect yourself when renting or buying a car<\/p>\n
Whether you\u2019re renting out a vehicle or buying one online, experts say taking the right precautions can help you avoid becoming the next victim.<\/p>\n
Harris County recommends that anyone purchasing a car on Facebook or through private online listings take these steps:<\/p>\n
Match the owner\u2019s ID to the car title<\/p>\n
Complete the transaction at a tax office to avoid fraud<\/p>\n
If the price seems too good to be true, don\u2019t buy it<\/p>\n
The Better Business Bureau offers these tips for car owners who rent out their vehicles:<\/p>\n
Use hardwired GPS trackers that cannot be easily found or removed by a renter<\/p>\n
Always visually match the person picking up the car with the physical driver\u2019s license provided<\/p>\n
Avoid private, cash-only rentals<\/p>\n
Notify police immediately if your car is sold or stolen<\/p>\n
The BBB also warns buyers to watch for these red flags when purchasing a car online:<\/p>\n
The price is significantly below market value<\/p>\n
The seller gives an overly personal reason for getting rid of the vehicle<\/p>\n
A buyer requests a specific, unfamiliar vehicle report and won\u2019t accept reports you\u2019ve already pulled<\/p>\n
The seller will not allow you to see the vehicle in person and insists on delivery<\/p>\n
Money must be sent to a third-party recommended by the seller<\/p>\n
To avoid falling for an online car buying fraud, the BBB recommends:<\/p>\n
Using only approved Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) lookup websites<\/p>\n
Never purchasing a vehicle report for an interested buyer<\/p>\n
Viewing a vehicle in person before buying<\/p>\n
Being wary of too-good-to-be-true prices<\/p>\n
Picking up a vehicle yourself whenever possible<\/p>\n
Resisting high-pressure tactics urging quick action<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON \u2013 A Houston woman who rents out cars through her private rental company found her stolen vehicle…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":381598,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[134754,8581,8374,56,58,57,61129,134753,37170],"class_list":["post-381597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-brionte","tag-car","tag-fraud","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news","tag-rental","tag-shurn","tag-title-fraud"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=381597"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381597\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/381598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=381597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=381597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=381597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}