People who have lived in areas where parking is at a premium like beach communities or where special events take place know all about the car stealing scam where they just tow cars away that are parked legally.
They hunt for cars and like you described will come into parking lots and take them.
“They hunt for cars and like you described will come into parking lots and take them.”
My car was towed from an Ormand Beach Days-Inn motel.
Warnings to “Park with front of vehicles to be ‘facing-in’ or your car will be towed”. (Written in white shoe polish on lobby windows). I complied, and turned in for the night.
Ormand Beach Police said, “It was the option left to motel parking lots to have derelict cars removed”.
My car is in the middle of being repainted, so it cost me $150 CASH in the early morning to continue my journey. (Hardly worth getting a lawyer, but lawyers themselves probably only have write a letter). I emailed Days-Inn, who said they were sorry I was inconvenienced. (!)
I suspect a scam between that Days-Inn motel and the tow truck company. (Eastern-European-owned, BTW).