Risk of purchasing cloned vehicles on the rise. According to statistics from the South African Insurance Crime Bureau, every year there are about R8.5 billion worth of vehicles that are stolen or hijacked in South Africa. The statistics also reveal that 36.4% of these vehicles are filtered back into the hands of consumers as cloned vehicles. Warwick Scott-Rodger, Head of Brokers at MUA Insurance Acceptances, says that the statistics highlight the growing need for consumers to be aware of what cloned vehicles are and the implications of falling victim to purchasing a cloned vehicle. He says that cloning a vehicle is equivalent to identity theft and cloned vehicle syndicates are becoming a growing concern for the insurance industry. There is a clear rise in vehicle thefts, which only adds to the number of cloned vehicles that land up on South Africas roads. The latest South African Crime Statistics released by the South African Police Service showed that car-jackings increased from 9 990 to 11 221 (a 12.3% increase) over the reporting period between April 2013 to March 2014. Scott-Rodger explains that criminals transfer the VIN number and engine numbers from legally owned vehicles to illegally obtained vehicles in an effort to legitimise the stolen vehicle. This method allows the criminal to steal the identity of a vehicle which is authorized in the system in order to authenticate the stolen vehicle. Criminals also hijack the live records and registration details of vehicles that are financed and before the owner knows it, these details have been changed on the system. He says that it is vital that consumers always purchase vehicles from reputable dealerships that have a great track record. This way the consumer will have added protection against falling victim to purchasing a cloned vehicle as the dealerships have been in the business for many years. Unfortunately, private vehicle sales are more prone to this type of illegal activity, leaving consumers with little recourse should the deal go bad. Scott-Rodger points out that the cloning of number plates has also become an increased problem that is turning e-toll billing into a nightmare. There have been numerous reports of people who do not own a car or people who are too young (or old) to drive a car are being billed for e-tolling. It is possible that this could be as a result of number plates being cloned by fraudsters in an effort to hide their illegal activities and movements behind innocent civilians. Fraudsters are continually developing new techniques to con consumers, so it is incredibly important that consumers remain extra vigilant when purchasing a new vehicle. If, at any point, a consumer feels that they are a victim of vehicle cloning they should immediately contact the local authorities, concludes Scott-Rodger.
Posted on: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 11:01:16 +0000
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