Drivers have been warned not to post videos or photos of their car number plates on social media following an increase in vehicle cloning.
Motoring experts at LeaseCar.uk have told drivers to always pixelate or obscure their vehicle number plates before sharing images on sites such as TikTok, Instagram or Facebook.
They say the social media platforms are being used by criminals to find images of cars and then steal the number from the plate.
They then attach it to their own cars to get away with breaking road laws such as speeding and parking offences and ULEZ compliance.
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The experts from LeaseCar.uk say the criminals look for the same model of vehicle in the same colour to the one they drive.
When they find one which looks similar they make a note or take a screenshot of the image with the number plate and simply have a new number plate printed with the stolen number to attach to their own car.
The owner of the car whose plates have been cloned will know nothing about it until they start receiving fines for vehicle offences – often in a completely different part of the country.
They then face the headache of trying to appeal the fines and often have to prove they were not responsible for the offence.
The rise in car cloning cases might be explained by the increased use of number plate reading ANPR cameras which law enforcement uses to detect crimes.
The fines can reach thousands of pounds and the process of proving innocence can be tricky so it’s important to do anything possible to prevent cloning.
Some criminals also clone plates to sell stolen vehicles. This can lead to innocent motorists being wrongly linked to offences, as car cloning is hard to detect before receiving unexpected fines or penalty charges.
Tim Alcock from LeaseCar.uk said: “Many of us are proud of the car we drive and naturally enough many want to share photos or videos on their Insta or TikTok.
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“But before doing so it’s important to pause and ask yourself if you could be unwittingly helping a criminal? Number plate cloning is a growing problem that puts drivers at risk of being falsely accused of crimes.
“Because of the increased use of ANPR cameras on the roads, we expect the car cloning cases to rise even more, as criminals want to avoid charges, such as the recent ULEZ charges in London.
“No one is safe from cloning criminals, so it’s important to be vigilant and take measures to prevent falling victim to getting your car cloned.
“There are steps drivers can take to ensure they aren’t unwittingly helping the cloners to steal their car’s identity.
“It’s particularly important to be careful online. If sharing pictures or videos of your car on social media, always blur or obscure the number plate before posting.”
