Thousands at risk of fines after having their number plates cloned

New data from the DVLA has revealed the staggering number of drivers reporting that they have received fines, penalties or letters involving vehicles that were displaying their number plate – but that they didn’t recognise. The research found that there were 12,300 such incidents between January 2021 and September 2022.It found that this is not a new trend, with the figures showing that there were more than 4,000 complaints in 2018 alone.A further 9,384 issues in 2018 and even 7,400 during the height of the Covid pandemic in 2020.Cases of cloned number plates have risen because of an increase in the number of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras.Criminals tend to pick a clean vehicle – one with no prior speeding tickets or fines – to replicate on their car.  READ MORE: Drivers urged to use ‘magic’ one-button trick to defrost the car Drivers warned as thousands at risk of fines after having their number plates cloned. (Image: Getty) There were more than 12,000 between January 2021 and September 2022. (Image: Getty)They can also copy the number plate of a similar make, model and colour to make it difficult for police to catch them.Police are now advising that the quickest course of action to resolve a cloned plate is to inform the DVLA and change the registration plate immediately.Speaking to Express.co.uk, Jon Kirkbright, sales director at Platehunter.com, said many people had spoken to him about the police on their doorstep He said: ‘Others have had speeding fines in London when they’ve never been there – all because someone has cloned their plate and used it to commit crimes.DON’T MISSDrivers face huge £1,000 fine for little-known parking law [WARNING]Electric car owners warned of major range issues [INSIGHT]Drivers being forced to pay more as most places don’t have EV chargers [SHOCKING] Toll roads in England. (Image: Express)Mr Kirkbright added: “To see 12,000 people have been stung in this way over the past 18 months is truly shocking.’We’ve seen a 300 percent increase in the purchase of replacement car registration plates in the last 12 months.’Earlier this year, the AA warned of a surge in fraudulent number plate cloning as older, more polluting cars look to avoid paying fines.Policy from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) stipulates that if a driver is stopped more than once with a plate which doesn’t meet regulations, the registration should be rescinded.In this case, the driver would be issued with a new, random number plate.This is done so all number plates meet the UK’s regulations and can be more easily identified by automatic number plate recognition cameras.