Used car salesman helps police foil major identity theft case, gains a customer in the process

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO)-- A Colorado Springs used car salesman is now apparently trying his hand at crime-fighting.

A woman with multiple theft convictions was reportedly ready to strike again until she crossed paths with Andrew Schinsky.

Schinsky works at Phil Long Kia and stopped a plot to steal a $45,000 car, using someone else's credit. He lost a sale but gained a friend.

The woman who allegedly had her identity stolen has no idea how Darci Peters, 47, allegedly gained access to her social security number. But she's now tight with Schinsky, who worked with police to not sell a car.

"We've certainly become friends," Schinsky laughs.

Peters reportedly reached out to the dealership online, trying to buy a Kia Telluride. The credit score of the woman whose identity was presented was so strong, that the bank wasn't even going to require a down payment.

"She was buying a car for her sister-in-law and said that her brother had passed away, and she needed a car to take care of the kids," Schinsky said.

Schinsky thought the woman was kind, and he was happy to help. He got the car detailed and everything was ready to go, he just needed a photo ID. He says Peters took a bit of time to provide one.

"I got the ID and I felt like, you know, something just didn't, didn't really sit with me very well."

So Schinsky did some digging. He found a Facebook profile that matched the name on the ID, but he was looking at a different picture. He sent the woman a message.

"He typed, 'Are you buying a car at Phil Long today?' and I'm like, 'Oh my god, absolutely not,'" the victim said. "He will always remain in my phone as andy the savior."

It turned out the identity belonged to a woman living in Colorado Springs. Schinsky sent the woman the photo of the ID. The address was reportedly from her previous home and her middle name was spelled incorrectly.

In addition to the wrong photo, the woman noticed, "the hologram that's supposed to be on the lower right-hand corner, it was like a full-on picture. And then the picture, like overlapped over the organ donor seal below it."

Schinsky and the alleged victim weren't done with the alleged fraudster though.

A reverse image search revealed that she was Peters. They handed the information over to the Colorado Springs police.

Under police guidance, Schinsky reportedly agreed to exchange the SUV with Peters in the parking lot of the Starbucks in the University Village Shopping Center.

There was a problem for Peters though, it wasn't Schinsky who was showing up.

"She was kind of freaking out a little bit, like, 'where are you?'  I'm like, 'I must be at a different Starbucks,' he told her on the phone.

The police were at the right one though. Two weeks later Peters was arrested by police.

The reported victim says she just so happens to be ready to buy a new car, and now she's going to buy one from her new friend, Schinsky.

"You have no idea until it's too late," the victim said of the ordeal. "I just happened to be lucky and had, you know, Andy the savior and some angel looking out for me."

"You can be a used car sales guy and still make positive differences, for sure," Schinsky says with a grin.