The DVLA has been urged to tackle a growing car problem which has seen thousands of motorists incorrectly slapped with penalties.
Number plate cloning has been growing across the UK, which has been putting drivers at risk of prosecution and fraudulent practices.
It comes after reports found that nearly 50,000 UK motorists have fallen victim to number plate cloning since 2020, with the DVLA reportedly only investigating 547 cases.
According to a Freedom of Information request, it found that over 12,300 drivers received wrongful fines between January 2021 and September 2022 alone.
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In the past four years, more than 50,000 drivers have been impacted by car cloning cases
PAThe crisis has accelerated dramatically over the years, with cloning reports surging 42 per cent from 7,377 cases in 2020 to 10,461 last year, with authorities recording 3,501 incidents in the first four months of this year.
Car cloning involves criminals putting genuine number plates on different vehicles, often of the same make and model, to evade detection while the real owner of the plates racks up hefty penalties.
A recent report found that last year saw the highest number of investigations recorded at 136, representing just 1.3 per cent of the 10,461 vehicles reported as cloned that year.
But investigation rates have varied wildly, from 112 cases in 2020 to just 60 in 2021, before recovering to 101 in 2022 and dropping again to 87 in 2023.
Car cloning involves number plates being fraudulently placed onto other vehicles
GETTYThis year, only 50 investigations were conducted against 3,501 reported cases. Kent was found to experience one of the highest amounts of cloning cases, with a 37 per cent rise over four years, with cases jumping from 815 in 2020 to 1,120 in 2024.
Last year alone saw a 26 per cent increase in cloning nationally, resulting in nearly 10,000 incorrect penalty notifications being sent to motorists.
A driver from Devon detailed the impact of the car cloning case: "What started as a few unexpected penalty notices quickly spiralled into a nightmare that's completely turned my life upside down."
Since purchasing her Range Rover on Facebook in March, she has received 11 Ulez charges and six PCN fines totalling over £2,500 for areas around Barking and London she has never visited.
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"I've had three separate insurance companies contact me about claims for accidents I wasn't involved in, the Met Police sent me a letter about charges for driving without due care and attention and failing to stop after an accident, and I was even blacklisted from fuel stations after someone used my cloned plates to steal petrol," she explained.
The problem has been escalating for years, with RAC data from 2021 showing complaints about cloned plates had already doubled, with 1,105 motorists contacting the DVLA in March 2020 compared to 656 in April 2019.
Tony Porter, a former assistant police chief constable, warned then about the "Wild West" trade requiring tougher regulation and bigger fines.
The Surveillance Camera Commissioner noted that growing numbers of ANPR cameras may be fuelling demand for illegal plates, as criminals use duplicates to evade detection whilst innocent motorists face wrongful pursuit.
Drivers impacted by car cloning cases can be hit with hefty penalties
PAAn investigation by The Telegraph at the time exposed how many of the UK's estimated 40,000 number plate retailers were "flagrantly disregarding" the law.
The consequences extend beyond financial penalties, with Alicia warning that she was pulled over twice by police, including once with her son, who was "absolutely petrified and traumatised by the experience."
"I've been warned that if I drive into London, there's a high chance I'll be surrounded by multiple police cars," she said, despite having passed her driving test only in October.
A DVLA spokesperson previously stated that victims should contact police and the issuing authorities with evidence that their vehicle wasn't in the area at the time of the alleged offences.