Vehicle cloning has reached its highest ever level, leaving innocent drivers facing fines for road incidents they never committed.
More than 11,400 motorists contacted the DVLA last year after receiving penalty notices for offences they did not recognise.
Most of those disputed penalties are believed to involve cloned plates, according to data obtained by the RAC.
Cloning happens when a registration plate is copied and placed on a similar vehicle to evade speed and enforcement cameras.
Many victims only discover their registration has been stolen when an unexpected fine arrives in the post.
Freedom of Information figures show disputes rose nine per cent from 10,460 in 2024, and have nearly doubled since 2018 when 5,912 cases were logged.
Suppliers must legally inspect a V5C logbook to prove ownership, but illegal operators continue to print plates without running checks.
RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “The continued rise in the number of cloned vehicles is alarming and confirms that cloning has become the menace of modern-day motoring, as it leaves innocent drivers having to fight to prove they were not driving their own vehicle at the time and place camera evidence shows.
“If number plate suppliers were carrying out all the checks they are supposed to, it would be much harder for dodgy drivers to buy cloned plates in the first place.
“Sadly, once fraudsters have managed to copy someone else’s plate it is extremely unlikely they will be caught by the police as they pick similar cars - in terms of make, model and colour - so as not to draw any attention to themselves.
“It is only when a fine arrives at a vehicle keeper’s home address that they realise someone else is driving around using their vehicle’s number plate illegally.”
Motoring groups also highlighted the spread of ghost plates designed to defeat Britain's 18,000 Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras.
The network records around 90 million vehicle movements each day, but modified plates allow criminals to travel undetected.
Mr Williams added: “Ghost plates are either fully or partially invisible to the majority of enforcement cameras and allow drivers to flout the law whenever they get behind the wheel.
“More needs to be done to catch drivers who have ghost plates, whether that is more police officers being equipped with handheld devices that can detect if plates are unreadable, updating ANPR cameras and introducing higher security standards for number plates and for those who produce them.”
Ministers have responded by launching a nationwide police enforcement unit to crack down on cloned vehicles and organised criminal gangs.
A new National Roads Policing Coordination Centre will coordinate intelligence and trial specialised camera detection goggles.
Roads Minister Justin Madders said: “We are cracking down on illegal number plates with new policing resources and innovative tech.
“Illegal number plates are used for crimes from evading parking charges to drug trafficking and we’re stepping in to protect drivers.
“This is a signal to anyone using illegal number plates that their time is up. We will catch you and our roads and streets will be safer for it.”
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