'Cloned' cars campaign launched

DI Tom McCrosson: "People should be alert to the problem"

Motorists in the west of Scotland are being warned against buying stolen vehicles with false identities.

More than 15 people have been sold "cloned" vehicles in Strathclyde along with hundreds more across the UK.

Organised crime groups are believed to be involved in the practice, which involves changing the identity of a stolen car to match a legitimate one.

Strathclyde Police say the criminals use sophisticated techniques to falsify a vehicle's V5 (log book) documents.

Many victims only realised they had been duped when they sent the car's V5 document to the DVLA to register themselves as the new keeper.

The innocent victims have lost thousands of pounds and have had their vehicles confiscated.

INNOCENT VICTIMS A 41-year-old man from Hamilton lost £8,000 after paying the crooks cash for a Ford Transit pick-up A 55-year-old man from Kilmarnock lost £6,000 again for a Transit pick-up A 37-year-old man from Ayrshire was duped out of £6,000 also for a Transit van A 43-year-old man from Argyll was conned out of £9,000 for a Toyota pick-up

Detective Inspector Tom McCrosson said: "Victims have been paying large sums of money for what they believe are legitimate vehicles - they are devastated to later discover that their new van or car is stolen.

"I would urge members of the public to be vigilant when buying a second-hand vehicle."

He advised buyers to check the VIN (vehicle identification number) stamped on the chassis and ask to see the registration document before purchase.

Strathclyde Police are launching a campaign to highlight the problem.

Other checks:

Check the serial number (top left hand corner of the document) on the V5 document

If this bears the prefix AP followed by a number higher than 7360201 then it is likely to be a forged document

In addition, if it bears the prefix AN 885, followed by a number between 4201 - 9600, it may be a forged document

Run a check on the vehicle (and its accompanying V5) with a car checking company such as Carwatch UK, HPI, Experian or AA Car Data Check

Wait until you receive and read through your buyers' pack thoroughly before closing the deal

Be extra wary of vehicles which are being sold for significantly less than their market value

Always ensure you visit the seller at home (do not purchase the vehicle in a car park or other public space)

If possible, ask to go inside the house to check the vehicle seller actually does live there. If the car sale advert only offers a mobile phone number, request a land line telephone number to contact the seller on. Even if a land line is provided still be cautious - in one incident in Strathclyde the telephone number given was a phone box in Kilmarnock.

New documents

DVLA spokesman Bill Skedgell said: "This is a very real problem for the honest motorists, particularly people living in the Strathclyde Police area where we've detected a particularly high incidence of criminals using forged V5s.

"The DVLA has recently introduced a new style registration document which will, in June 2005, make the old style document redundant.

"While this will eventually put a stop to the problem, we anticipate that it could lead to a surge of forged V5s flooding the market in the current months and so motorists really do need to be on their guard."

The DVLA runs a helpline on 0870 2411878.