MooiVaal Media’s editorial team regularly receive calls from Vaal Triangle motorists who receive traffic fines in towns they never visited, and suspect that their vehicles’ registration plates have been cloned.
It is estimated that one in five vehicle number plates in Gauteng are cloned, according to a report by Carte Blanche, with over 350 variations of legal plates allowed in South Africa.
These false registration plates are used by motorists to avoid paying traffic fines and e-tolls, and are relatively easy to obtain. The Carte Blanche team investigated the ease with which you can buy a fraudulent number plate, and spoke to victims of vehicle registration fraud – highlighting how prevalent the problem is in SA.
But what can a motorist do if their number plate is cloned, and how do fraudsters get the fake plates? It seems some offending companies among officially SABS-permitted stores, allow you to walk in and ask for one – in many cases no ID or car licence disc is required.
Some of these offending companies also produce plates that look like a number plate but are not legal – selling them for R200 each. Using these plates allows fraudsters to avoid fines and tolls.
A by-product of number plate cloning is that the legitimate holder of a particular vehicle registration is then faced with fines and tolls accumulated by the fraudster.
One case was that of Kim Hawker, the owner of a shuttle business. She received an e-toll bill for a bakkie that was not hers, but had the same registration of a shuttle she owned. Her vehicles’ number plate was apparently cloned and used on someone else’s bakkie. Hawker contacted Sanral to dispute the bill, but was hung up on by one of its call centre agents. Sanral later said it is not involved in the matter of number plate cloning, and “the burden is on the road user to prove their innocence.”
Take these steps if your number is cloned:
Report the matter: Justice Project South Africa’s Howard Dembovsky says if a motorist has their number plate cloned, they must first visit the SAPS and open a criminal case.
“It would be advisable for victims to also approach their local metro or traffic police and report the matter, once they have done so with SAPS,” he said.
Traffic fines: If a motorist’s plate is cloned and they receive traffic fines racked up by the fraudster, they must either contact the RTIA – if the fine is from an AARTO operational area – or the presiding traffic authority or public prosecutor.
E-toll bills: If the motorist starts receiving e-toll bills, they must make a submission to Sanral that they are not liable for the amount owed.
“The sad part is that even if you go to the trouble of having your number plate officially changed, the cloned plate number will remain. Traffic fines will still link to your original number.
“The statement a person makes when reporting this crime to the SAPS, coupled with the SAPS case number, will be very useful in making any future representations,” advises Dembovsky.
