‘Aid offenders’: Police issue urgent number plate scam warning
Drivers are being urged to take immediate action after state police uncovered a widespread number plate cloning operation.
Victoria Police is urging drivers to remain vigilant and avoid posting their unblurred number plates on social media after a recent operation that led to officers confiscating 32 cloned plates and the arrest of 79 people across south-east Melbourne.
During the four-month blitz – which focused on stolen and cloned number plates – the Frankston Crime Investigation Unit’s Targeted Enforcement Crew seized 25 allegedly stolen vehicles totalling more than a million dollars in value.
Among the makes and models recovered by police was a Toyota LandCruiser worth an estimated $200,000, while an Audi A5, Nissan Patrol and two Toyota HiLuxes were also found during the operation.
According to authorities, a 32-year-old man from Carrum Downs was allegedly manufacturing “high-end cloned plates” and selling them online, where offenders purchased the fake registration plates.
Number plate theft has been on the state police’s radar over the past couple of years, with a previous police investigation leading to the arrest of a 38-year-old man after he allegedly manufactured 875 cloned plates, some of which were allegedly involved in serious, organised crime.
As reported by Drive in April 2026, number plate theft increased by 20 per cent between 2024 and 2025, with 32,228 offences recorded last year.
A Victoria Police media release stated, “Stolen and cloned plates are often used to aid offenders as they attempt to fly under the radar while committing further crimes such as aggravated burglaries, fire-bombings, drive-by shootings and drug trafficking".
"Anecdotally, they are often affixed to the same make, model and colour of stolen vehicles matching that of the original car to avoid detection. Cloned plates are also interchanged on vehicles that are being used repetitively in criminal syndicates.”
During the fourth-month operation, police seized a range of makes and models.
According to Frankston Investigation and Response Inspector Melissa Nixon, drivers can implement some safety measures that can help mitigate the risk.
“We strongly advise anyone who is trying to sell a car or posting images of their car online to blur the number plate, to avoid falling victim to anyone scanning social media for registration plates to clone,” Inspector Nixon said.
Motorists should also consider anti-theft plate screws, which are widely available in most hardware stores.
Cloned and stolen plates are also an issue in New South Wales, where Premier Chris Minns recently announced a new proposal that could give police access to unredacted photos captured by tolls and road cameras.
“We’ve had situations where crooks, very bad people who are involved in organised crime, have changed the number plate of their cars, the cars that have gone through toll gantries or in one of the tunnels,” the NSW Premier told 2GB radio on 21 July 2026.
“The number plate and the car are meaningless to the police because it’s not the right car, and yet the photo that is presented to the police has the images blackened out, the faces blackened out.”
