Have you Been Caught Out By Car Cloning?
Author: Chris Haycock
Published: 20 June 2006
Retainagroup, a company that specialises in security marking and registration services, has revealed that the general public, and even the police are very much in the dark when it comes to knowledge and understanding of the problems of car cloning within the automotive industry.
The company is calling for greater awareness of car cloning, the vehicle equivalent of identity theft, as there are many people in the UK who may be driving around in a cloned vehicle without their knowledge.
Although many vehicles carry a visible VIN (vehicle identification number), this does not deter come criminals, who change the VIN number and falsify vehicle documents so that the car can be easily sold to an unsuspecting victim.
They also replace the number plates on the vehicle with a registration plate of another, almost identical car of the same make, model and sometimes even the paintwork colour, making identification of a cloned car difficult to the untrained eye.
"Cloned vehicles tend to come to light only when it’s too late, and by then, there could be several victims of the crime and a huge financial cost," said Retainagroup boss, Wendy Rowe. "The owner of a cloned car who receives fines, charges, penalty points or is accused of stealing fuel or involvement in more serious crimes has the difficult task of proving that he or she is innocent. I wonder how many have simply accepted a fine or penalty points rather than challenge the system?
"If the car is used as a getaway vehicle or in a ram raid, there will be a further victim of the original crime. And if you’re unfortunate enough to ‘buy’ a cloned vehicle, you’ll find that you don’t own it and that you can say goodbye to the money. Even a vehicle provenance check will not necessarily reveal a clone."
Retainagroup has given the following advice to car buyers to ensure that they do not become a victim of car cloning: I) Secure registration plates with clutch-head screws to make them more secureII) Immediately report stolen registration plates to the police and ensure they give you a crime reference number
III) If you receive a fine or demand from somewhere where you have not been, get in touch with the authorities and the police to challenge it
IV) The unique code on the Retainagroup-marked glass, if supplied, shoudl correctly correspond with the registration mark and VIN. Use the International Security Register number on the etched glass
V) Get a vehicle provenance check before purchasing a car, and include a document check if possible
Car owners are strongly advised to protect their cars using the above means. Retainagroup´s vehicle glass marking system is a good deterrent in combating car cloning. For more information about Retainagroup, and their available products, visit http://www.retainagroup.co.uk.
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i recently bought an AUDI A4 S-LINE which was a clone the v5 was almost perfect until i went to get new tax the v5 form did not have a bar-code at the bottom or the new keeper supplement i even did an HPI check which came back with the same details as the cars V.I.N. number so be aware these cloners are good at what they do, i never thought i would get caught out so easily i lost £11,000 which took me a lifetime to save for the car i always wanted so beware out there coz they dont care