INNOCENT drivers are being framed by strangers hundreds of miles away in a number plate cloning ‘epidemic’ sweeping UK roads.
Fake plates – described by the RAC as the “scourge of the modern motorist” – are being ordered to avoid speeding and ULEZ charges, but also risk opening the door to organised crime and terrorism, security experts have warned.
PacemakerPaul Duffin says he was a victim of numberplate cloning[/caption]
PacemakerThe young driver was slapped with over a dozen charges for offences in London despite living in Northern Ireland[/caption]
A Sun investigation has found firms exploiting loopholes in the law to flog licence plates with no requirement for documents proving ownership.
One furious driver tells us how he has been stung with over a dozen penalty charge notices for parking and speeding in London worth around £2,000 – despite never having driven in the capital and living in a different country.
Tony Porter OBE, who served as the Home Office’s Surveillance Camera Commissioner from 2014 to 2020, compares the failings to the Post Office scandal, revealing the Government was warned four years ago but nothing was done.
He tells us: “There are some remarkable issues and I know the police are really concerned about gaping holes in the system.
“We’re in the same realm as the Post Office scandal where a large database was known to be faulty, and nobody did anything about it.”
The UK’s Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) network snaps around 80 million images a day, expected to rise to 100 million by the end of the year.
However, dodgy drivers are kitting out their cars with copied plates to dodge emission zone charges, speeding fines and parking tickets.
It is believed that over a million ANPR ‘reads’ a day are inaccurate and figures released by the DVLA show that 32,500 motorists have lodged complaints about suspected number plate cloning in the past four years alone.
In London, the number of ULEZ charges overturned due to cloning more than quadrupled to almost 13,000 after the zone’s first expansion in 2021.
Under UK law, it is illegal to drive with cloned plates and culprits could be charged with fraud, with punishments ranging from a community order and a fine of up to £1,000 to a prison sentence.
The RAC’s Simon Williams says: “Cloning is the scourge of the modern motorist.
“It’s brought on by the abundance of ANPR cameras in use up and down the country for all manner of reasons, but none more so than the ULEZ zone in London.
“Drivers with non-compliant cars are finding number plates of similar cars which are compliant and fitting them to their own vehicles.
“They drive around London as fast as they like without any fear of getting a ticket – and when it goes wrong it’s someone else who gets sent the penalty charge or notice of intended prosecution.”
Twitter/TrafficwmpA ‘cloned’ car seized in Birmingham last month[/caption]
Class A drug wraps were found in the vehicleTwitter/Trafficwmp
GMP PoliceIn another case in Eccles, Greater Manchester, a machete was thrown from the window of a cloned car during a police chase[/caption]
SWNSA car with a cloned plate was involved in a high speed chase last October[/caption]
SWNSDrug dealers Patrick McCabe and Ronnie Beckett were jailed after attempting to flee on foot[/caption]
Slapped with 15 false charges
One young driver caught up in the scam is 19-year-old Paul Duffin from Antrim in Northern Ireland.
His nightmare began in mid-January and since then he has racked up 15 penalty charge or speeding tickets, all for offences committed 500 miles away in London.
Paul, a trainee project manager, explained: “I came home from work one day to three letters – one for driving through a ‘no entry’ sign and two for speeding.
“I was worried because I’m only in my second year of driving. That would have been six points and I’d have lost my licence.
“But then I read the detail and realised they were all for offences in London – and I’d never been there.”
I feel like I did the police’s job for them
Paul Duffin
Twelve more fines piled up in Paul’s letterbox over the following month. He contacted both the police and DVLA but was told it was up to him to prove he wasn’t the driver.
“There was no reassurance from them whatsoever,” he explained.
“I work full-time and have another part-time job, and was coming home from work to spend the evening making calls and sending emails trying to sort this out.
“In the end I requested some extra CCTV and photos and was able to prove some slight differences between the offending car and mine. I feel like I did the police’s job for them.
“It was only a few days ago that they told me no further action will be taken, but they also warned me the only way to stop it happening again would be to get rid of my own personalised number plate.”
Paul believes his reg was cloned after advertising his Volkswagen Golf for sale in Autotrader at the start of the year.
Rogue traders
SuppliedThe Sun found websites online offering plates with ‘no documentation’ needed[/caption]
SuppliedThe sites claimed they were ‘road legal’ despite requiring no checks[/caption]
Businesses have to be registered with the DVLA to sell replacement number plates.
They must ask for proof of ID and address plus a vehicle registration document to supply plates – but the system is poorly monitored and open to abuse.
We found traders on Facebook marketplace offering a ‘show plate’ service selling designer number plates featuring raised and 3D lettering with no documents needed.
Although they are not meant to be used on the road, in reality the police rarely take action, and cameras can’t distinguish them from legal plates.
Cloning is the scourge of the modern motorist
The RAC’s Simon Williams
We also found companies operating outside of the UK and offering road-legal number plates with no need for documents.
One Jersey-based firm – who run paid-for ads on Facebook – supply plates for just £19.98 and state on their site: “No documentation. We won’t ask you for any further information, just design your plate and it will be on the way to you!”
Another based in Republic of Ireland charge £29.98 with ‘No documents required’, according to their website.
‘Fundamentally flawed’
Tony Porter, a former counter terrorism police officer, raised the loopholes with the Government in 2020 during his time as Surveillance Camera Commissioner.
“We made a number of recommendations, but there’s been inaction,” he said. “We’re concerned that it’s dropped by the wayside.”
Last year he wrote to the Home Office, MI5 and the police calling for tougher controls on number plate sellers, and enhanced security measures on the plates themselves so they can be told apart from clones.
He warned of a ‘fundamentally flawed’ system which could allow organised criminals and terrorists to travel under the radar.
“Someone could be driving their car quite innocently not knowing it’s been cloned by an organised crime group,” he said.
“If the police then have intelligence that links their number plate to armed criminals – you only need to put two and two together to realise the scale of the threat to the public.”
What to do if you believe you licence plate has been cloned?
Often the first indication of this crime, will be receiving a parking or speeding fine that wasn’t committed by you in the post.
According to Martyn James, from complaints resolution service Resolver, it’s important to act immediately and do not pay the ticket.
He told Mirror Money: “You need to report the matter to the police. In theory, the crime reference number should be a major contributing factor to your complaint succeeding.”
He said the first thing to do is contact the police and DVLA straight away to inform them that you believe your number plate has been cloned.
They will issue you with a crime number – and once you have that, you need to contact the company that issued the fine.
Martyn says you should use this phrase in the correspondence: “I am disputing this fine because this is not me or my vehicle. I have reported this to the police. Please confirm in writing that you are suspending charges and interest while this matter is looked into.”
The complaints resolution expert says it’s a good idea to gather evidence to support your case and prove you were not at the location where the offence was committed.
This could include any receipts, records that show bank transactions, records from your workplace and anything else that can prove your point.
Data from telematics systems such as black boxes – which are typically used to monitor drivers’ road habits to lower insurance rates – can also be requested as they should show the location of the vehicle at specific dates and times.
Collecting as much evidence as possible will help your claim.
James added: “Complaints succeed where people stay calm and present evidence to counter the claim. But reporting the dispute is the most important thing.”
The DVLA said that any motorist who believes their vehicle has been cloned should contact the police.
They also advised anyone receiving fines or penalties to contact the issuing authority with evidence that shows their vehicle was not in the area at the time.
The Home Office said in a statement: “The cloning and defacing of number plates affects road safety and provides cover for criminals. We encourage the police to work with DVLA and other partners to crack down on these crimes.
“Decisions on the enforcement of road traffic offences are operational matters for Chief Constables and local policing partners. They are best placed to understand how to meet the needs of local communities.”