Inaccurate data documenting the use of cloned license plates for criminal offences has made it harder to determine how prevalent 'ghost plates' truly are.
Victoria Police's processes are facing fresh scrutiny after revelations that current data recording practices make it unclear when, or how often, fake copies of Victorian number plates are being used by those committing crimes.
A typical scenario involves copying a vehicle's registration number, and then creating duplicate number plates that they then attach to a (typically stolen) vehicle of the same type.
This cloning of real plates to create so-called 'ghost plates' means vehicle owners only discover their plates have been copied once they receive an infringement notice in the mail, or notification from the police.
Frustrated victims of cloned number plates regularly take to social media to complain of receiving notices for speeding fines and toll road fees incurred by the fraudulent user of their cloned number plate. But, a lack of data leaves Victorians in the dark as to how widespread this issue is.
Data is recorded and published by Victoria’s Crime Statistics Agency (CSA) detailing when and where number plates have been physically stolen in Victoria.
CSA told Drive that while Victoria Police do record some information about cloned or false number plates being used as part of crimes, CSA could not share this data.
“Victoria Police do record whether cloned or false number plates are used during an offence (recorded via the non-mandatory Modus Operandi (MO) codes) however the majority of offences have missing data for the MO code.” A CSA staff member said.
“The CSA has determined that these data are not of sufficient quality to be used for general statistical purposes and do not include these data in our output datasets.”
The unavailability of accurate data detailing when cloned number plates are used in offences makes it difficult to grasp to what extent plate cloning is an issue in Victoria.
Victoria Police did not answer Drive’s question regarding if they have any future plans to more accurately record the use of cloned or false number plates during offenses.
However, a Victoria Police spokesperson did tell Drive that “Numberplate theft and cloning is often at the centre of more serious offending.”
“Stolen and cloned numberplates can be used by offenders to hide the identity of a vehicle when committing other crimes such as burglaries, ram raids, petrol drive offs, toll evasion and to evade police.”
Some types of serious offending have been increasing in Victoria. There were 32,997 instances of motor vehicle theft in Victoria for the 12-month period ending June 2025. An increase from the 23,229 instances recorded between June 2023 and June 2024.
The graph below shows motor vehicle theft offences for each year 12-month period ending in June, dating back to 2016.
Victoria Police told Drive that police cancelled 5,525 infringement notices due to fraudulent (stolen and cloned) numberplates between 1 July 2024 and 30 June 2025.
Victoria Police are able to use Automatic Numberplate Recognition Technology (ANRT) to scan number plates and identify if they are reported stolen or cloned.
Victoria Police said they are “regularly” seizing illegal numberplates using this technology.
Advice for drivers to prevent plate cloning is to blur your vehicle's number plate when sharing images and videos of it online (including when advertising it for sale), according to Victoria Police.
Anti-tamper screws can also be purchased to make it more difficult for number plates to be physically stolen from cars.
“Vehicle owners should report numberplate theft and suspected cloning activity to Victoria Police via Crime Stoppers, or through the Police Assistance Line on 131 444.”
“If you receive an infringement notice and your number plates have been stolen or cloned, you need to complete a nomination statement through Fines Victoria and include a police report reference number.”
In late 2022, the Victorian Government announced that from December 30 2022, all general issue standard car number plates would feature a "hologram" technology embedded that would "ensure that unauthorised reproduction of number plates is impossible".
Drive contacted the Department of Transport and Planning with questions about the current state of this technology and if it has reduced number plate cloning since its introduction.
A spokesperson told Drive, "We have worked closely with Victoria Police and the Department of Justice and Community Safety on a solution to combat number plate theft and cloning in Victoria."
"If a customer has been a victim of cloned number plates being used illegally, they can request a change of number plate."
"There is no need to cancel and re-register the vehicle, replacement plates can be purchased and officially changed on the vehicle."
Max is the News Publishing Coordinator for Drive. He enjoys creating engaging digital content, including videos, podcasts, interactive maps, and graphs. Prior to Drive, he studied at Monash University and gained experience working for various publications. He grew up playing Burnout 3: Takedown on the PS2 and was disappointed when real life car races didn’t have the same physics.
