How you could become a suspect in a serious crime in South Africa without even knowing it

There has been a rise in vehicle licence plate cloning, and these cloned vehicles are then being used to commit serious crimes such as hijackings, kidnappings, and even murder.

This is according to IBF investigations, which have warned motorists to be vigilant of the re-emergence of the cloning trend.

Speaking with Newzroom Afrika, IBF investigations director Stan Bezuidenhout said it’s incredibly easy for criminals to clone your car’s identity – stealing car VIN numbers of unsuspecting motorists at parking areas and malls.

“If I wanted to clone a vehicle and I wanted to create a fake vehicle, all I’d have to do is I’d have to walk around any parking lot in South Africa, such as at a shopping mall, go to a target vehicle that I’m interested in and simply take a photograph of the licence disc,” he said.

“I now have all the information that I need. I then take a standard vehicle registration document and edit it on a software program, change the digits and the numbers to match the number plate from the targeted vehicle, and then go to a local number plate manufacturing facility to print the plates,” Bezuidenhout explained.

“As long as they get their R280 or R300, they’ll print me my number plates. For the licence disc, all I have to do now is match the registration to the actual VIN number of my car,” he added.

“I put the plates on, and now I’ve got two identical vehicles in the eyes of the State.”

Bezuidenhout noted while most cases will result in the unsuspecting motorist receiving traffic fines, etc., some have been used for serious crimes such as robbery, cash in transit heist, kidnapping, or even murder.

“There have been instances of people being confronted by ten police officers waving guns in their faces, telling them they’re the suspect in a serious crime,” he said.

It’s a big problem, and it’s incredibly hard for the authorities and the true owner of the vehicle to detect that type of fraud has occurred.

To make things worse is that the South African Police Service (SAPS) isn’t safe either.

In December 2023, police officers recovered a cloned Gauteng Traffic Police vehicle in Edleen, Kempton Park.

The vehicle had been used in the commissioning of truck hijackings across Gauteng.

According to Captain Nelda Sekgobela, the vehicle belonged to a syndicate targeting trucks travelling on the N12, R24, R21 and N3 in Gauteng.

Experts have estimated that between 3,000 and 5,000 cases are reported each year in South Africa, and it seems the unwitting owner is the one left in trouble.

Read: 7 cars that hijackers are targetting in South Africa – with one new addition