Police responded to the 13000 block of Pocono Court around 7:06 a.m. following vandalism reports.
Upon arrival, officers found a derogatory racial comment scratched into the paint of a vehicle.
Authorities then contacted the owner of the vehicle.
Based on the correlation between the car owner's ethnicity and the derogatory comment, the incident is being investigated as a possible hate crime.
The car damage was estimated to be over $5,000.
Anyone with information on this incident was urged to contact Moreno Valley police at (951) 247-8700.