Motorists with their own vehicles could be at risk of being falsely accused of a driving offence and slapped with a fine. And to guard against it, they are being urged never to post their licence plate details on social media.
The scam – believed to be on the rise across the UK – involves someone taking a car’s details with malicious intent. Car cloning, sometimes known as vehicle identity theft, occurs when someone steals a car’s identity and applies it to another vehicle, usually to commit a crime with the car whilst attempting to conceal any trace of the criminal.
Whilst there are no official current figures on how frequently this crime is committed, a freedom of information request (FOI) by the BBC revealed that nearly 37,000 car cloning incidents in 2023 resulted in fines being scrapped. This represents an increase of 64% in the three years prior to the FOI.
How criminals clone cars
The unlawful act of car cloning is generally carried out by criminals who will take the details of a vehicle’s registration plate and then have it duplicated to be placed on another car. Some may even go a step further and alter the cloned car’s Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) to further hinder proper identification.
Further complications with identifying the perpetrator of the crime can arise when criminals copy the plates onto a vehicle that is similar to the original.
Criminals can identify number plates for cloning in a variety of ways, including spotting images of cars with their plates visible on social media or car buying and selling websites. Those who engage in car cloning may use the cloned vehicle to commit road traffic offences or try to sell the cloned car to unsuspecting buyers.
If a cloned car is caught by ANPR cameras committing an offence, it’s typically the registered owner of the original vehicle who will receive a fine as they are linked with the registration plate in official databases.
What to do if you suspect your vehicle has been cloned
If you’re accused of committing an offence with your car, but you believe it wasn’t you and that the actual person who committed the offence has cloned your car, you should first speak with whichever authority issued the fine. If you tell them you believe the vehicle was cloned and that you didn’t actually commit the offence, they are far more likely to put your case on hold.
Following this, you should get in touch with the DVLA and the police and tell them you believe you’re a victim of car cloning. Both authorities may ask you to provide further details of your motor as well as additional evidence that you weren’t in the same place where the alleged offence took place.
How to safeguard yourself from car cloning
Given that many criminals can clone registration plates from photographs, it’s advisable to avoid posting any images of your vehicle with the registration plate visible online, including on social media. If you’re selling the car online, consider blurring out the registration plate in the advert.
When parking your car overnight, it might be best to keep it hidden from view, such as in a locked garage, to prevent criminals from spotting the registration plates or physically nicking them. You could also consider purchasing special registration plates designed to deter theft.
For instance, some plates are engineered to shatter if someone tries to remove them. If you’re buying a new car and aren’t certain whether it’s cloned or not, you should conduct thorough checks.
Official DVLA advice emphasises that you should know the vehicle’s registration number, make, model, and MOT test number. You should also request to see the V5C certificate to verify all the details are accurate.
Further details on purchasing a car safely can be found here.