THE GREAT AUSSIE CAR CLONE CON: Ruthless scammers are STEALING your number plate to rack up HUGE fines in YOUR name… and YOU are the one footing the bill!

 

• A sophisticated new scam is targeting innocent Australian motorists
• Criminals ‘clone’ plates from photos on sites like Carsales and Gumtree
• Victims are being hit with thousands in bogus fines and demerit points
• Police issue urgent warning: ‘Obscure your number plates online’

A frightening and sophisticated new scam is sweeping across Australia, targeting innocent motorists with thousands of dollars in bogus fines and threatening them with demerit points for offences they never committed.

Criminals are creating ‘digital doppelgängers’ of vehicles by cloning number plates from online listings, leaving unsuspecting victims to face a bureaucratic nightmare to prove their innocence.

It’s the letter in the mail that every driver dreads.

But for a growing army of Australians, the shock of seeing a speeding ticket or toll fine is turning into a waking nightmare.

Imagine a hardworking mum from the suburbs, opening an envelope to find a final demand notice for $580 for repeatedly using a toll road in a city she hasn’t visited in years.

Or a retiree who prides himself on a spotless driving record suddenly being accused of running a red light at 2 a.m. on the other side of the state.

This isn’t a simple administrative error. It’s the calling card of Australia’s latest brazen road pirates who are exploiting a simple security flaw that puts millions at risk.

A Scammer’s Paradise

 

They are trawling popular online marketplaces like Carsales, Gumtree, and Facebook Marketplace, hunting for their next victim.

Their method is terrifyingly simple.

The criminals find a clear, high-resolution photo of a car for sale – one just like yours – and digitally capture the license plate. They then use this image to manufacture a perfect physical replica of your number plate.

This cloned plate is then attached to a similar make, model, and colour vehicle, which is often stolen or unregistered.

The crooks now have a ghost car, allowing them to drive with complete impunity.

They speed through school zones, ignore red lights, and bypass every toll gantry, safe in the knowledge that the infringement notices are being sent directly to an innocent, unsuspecting owner of the legitimate vehicle.

 

‘A Complete and Utter Nightmare’

 

For the victims, the ordeal is a descent into bureaucratic quicksand.

They are hit with a deluge of fines and demerit points, often facing the threat of license suspension for violations that are not their own.

The burden of proof falls entirely on them.

They are treated as guilty until they can definitively prove their innocence, a task that can be incredibly frustrating and time-consuming.

Victims are forced to become amateur detectives, gathering evidence like dashcam footage, GPS data, shopping receipts, or workplace time sheets to create an alibi and prove they were nowhere near the scene of the crime.

One frustrated motorist described the experience as “a complete and utter nightmare,” spending weeks on the phone, sending countless emails, and filling out statutory declarations to fight a mountain of fines that just kept coming.

 

How to Protect Yourself: The Official Warning

 

State authorities and police are now issuing urgent warnings, confirming a sharp rise in this type of fraud.

Their number one piece of advice is a stark wake-up call to anyone thinking of selling their car online.

A senior traffic officer warned: “You must obscure your number plates when posting photos online.”

“It is the single most effective way to prevent your vehicle from being cloned. Treat your license plate like you would your credit card number.”

If you are unlucky enough to become a victim, authorities stress you must act immediately.

• Step 1: Report the matter to the police to receive an official event number.
• Step 2: Immediately contact the relevant fines and transport authorities to initiate a formal dispute with that event number.

But as the scammers become more sophisticated, the best defence is prevention.

In the war against these new road pirates, a pixelated photo is your best line of defence.

So before you post that ad to sell your car, take five seconds to blur, smudge, or cover your plate. It’s a simple click that could save you thousands of dollars, protect your driving record, and spare you a world of unearned heartache.