If you’ve ever opened your mailbox to find a speeding fine for somewhere you’ve never been—or worse, a string of penalties stacking up while your car sits untouched—you’re not alone.

A growing wave of crime is leaving countless unsuspecting motorists caught up in the chaos, all due to a simple yet troubling scheme involving stolen and cloned number plates.


In the last financial year alone, Victoria Police have been forced to throw out a staggering 5,525 infringement notices—about 106 fines every single week—because criminals are using stolen or expertly cloned number plates to commit offences.

That’s millions of dollars in fines withdrawn, and countless hours wasted for both police and everyday Aussies trying to clear their names.


So, how are these crooks pulling it off? It turns out, technology is a double-edged sword.

Offenders are now using 3D printers to create near-perfect replicas of legitimate number plates, which they then slap onto stolen vehicles—usually of the same make and model as the original.

When these cars are caught by speed or red-light cameras, or even pulled over by police, the plates match the database, and the real owner cops the fine.


The fallout isn’t just financial. One Victorian woman lost her licence after thieves used her stolen plates to rack up fines.

Another man returned from an overseas holiday to find $1,500 in infringement notices waiting for him, all while his car was locked up at home. It’s not just a hassle—it can be life-altering.

Paul Maric from CarExpert.com.au summed up the frustration: ‘Often you’re interrogated to the point where you have to prove it was not you driving the car. It seems entirely bizarre to me when they’re the ones sending you the fine that you have to prove you weren’t driving the car; it should be the other way around.’

And it’s not just motorists feeling the pinch. Petrol stations and toll companies are also being stung, forced to absorb the costs of stolen fuel and unpaid tolls.

Even more concerning, some gangland shootings have involved vehicles with cloned plates, making this a public safety issue as well.

According to the Victorian Crime Statistics Agency, nearly 30,000 number plate thefts were reported between March 2024 and March 2025—a ten-year high.

Police have seized hundreds of stolen and cloned plates in recent operations, aided by Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras.

These high-tech devices, mounted on patrol cars or fixed locations, scan passing vehicles and cross-check plates against a database of stolen or unregistered cars.

In 2023, Victoria introduced new number plates with holographic watermarks to make cloning harder.

While this is a step in the right direction, the rollout is still limited. Meanwhile, other countries are experimenting with digital plates that display registration status and are much harder to fake, but don’t expect to see those on Aussie roads anytime soon.

Victoria Police are taking this issue seriously, with a spokesperson saying: ‘Number plate theft and cloning causes flow-on issues for car owners and we want to reassure the community we take this type of offending very seriously and are committed to identifying and holding offenders to account.’

Remember, crimes involving number plates can lead to up to six months in jail—so it’s not just a slap on the wrist for offenders.
Have you ever been the victim of number plate theft or received a fine that wasn’t yours? What steps do you take to protect your car? Share your stories and tips in the comments below.

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