About 1.75 million of the 37 million vehicles of all types in the UK (about 32 million of those being cars) are estimated be wearing cloned registration plates. The astonishing findings come from the work of Dr ken German a Director of the International Association of Auto Theft Investigators (IAATI). Dr German said that according to the police there are thousands of cloned plates spotted every day by their automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) and CCTV cameras clearly in an attempt (they suggest) to avoid detection when stealing petrol, parking illegally, speeding or committing more serious offences such as burglary or robbery.
The clones plates originate from various sources such as vehicles on the road at the moment but a large proportion of cloned registrations can be traced back to vehicles written off by insurers. However about 1.25 million vehicle registrations register as false due to them being doctored to read differently. This is usually because they have been altered using black tape or even felt tip pens.
ANPR has been decisive in collating the data as the feedback is immediate and logged on a computer system. So if a number plate registered to a Mercedes is found on a ford it is flagged immediately.
Remember to always use a reputable number plate supplier if you are getting a new set of plates. Make sure they are DVLA registered and that they can be contacted easily to ask questions. A lot of shady dealers rely on the anonymity of the internet and do not provide an address or easy contact number.
Whether you are buying a number plate or not always feel free to call Fourdot who will be happy to advise on you number plate, legality and any other questions.
