Increase In Number Plate Cloning Fraud

Motorist are being warned about an increase in incidents of car number plate cloning. 

Number plate 'cloning' is where criminals fit a car with a duplicate of your vehicle's number plate so that if their car is involved in an accident or an offence such as speeding, your car ends up 'taking the blame' for the incident. 

This could result in heavy financial losses or even criminal charges.

According to the AA, 10,000 cars with cloned number plates are on the road. It estimates that one in 250 cars driving into the congestion zone in London have cloned plates, allowing drivers to escape the £8 charge.

Petrol stations lose more than £14m a year when motorists drive off without paying, most of them with cloned plates. Drivers with cloned plates also get away with offences such as speeding or going through red lights, knowing that someone else will face fines and penalty points.

Anyone suspecting that their number plates have been stolen or cloned should immediately report the crime to the police. Those who receive unexplained speeding or parking tickets should contact the issuing authority promptly.

Drivers who fall victim more than once should ask the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency if they can re-register their car with a new number.

Both Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire olice have recently addressed this issue by encouraging motorists to fit special number plate screws, which make removal of the registration plate impossible without shattering the plate.

For more information about securing your vehicles against criminals, contact BusinessWatch on 0845 1085409
or email info@businesswatch.org