Aussie drivers warned of numberplate cloning scam
If you’ve received an unexplained parking or tollway fine, you could be a victim of a sophisticated number plate cloning scam.
Crooks are using these cloned numberplates to rack up huge toll bills, speeding fines and even stealing petrol, safe in the knowledge that the fines will be sent to the real plate owner.
The process of cloning a number plate is said to be as simple as finding a vehicle of identical model and colour, noting its number plate, and reproducing it.
Geoff Gwilym from the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce said that it was "disappointing" the innocent parties had to prove the car in question wasn't theirs.
"The way that cloning works is that somebody sees a car and it's like the car that they've got or they look on the internet for a similar car, and they basically copy the numberplate and put it on their car," he told 9News last year.
If you receive a suspicious fine, Gwilym advises you to challenge it and report it to the appropriate authority.