Melbourne driver who listed her Audi for sale is targeted by scammers and hit with more than $1,000 worth of speeding fines
A driver who tried to sell her car online was hit with more than $1,000 in speeding fines after scammers cloned her license plates.
Daniela Pobega, who lives in Rosebud, about 90km south of Melbourne, has been issued fines worth $1,100 and nine demerit points for speeding.
The 71-year-old woman was issued a total of three speeding fines, but the grandmother claims her vehicle’s license plates have been cloned.
Ms Pobega said her license plates were cloned by another motorist after she posted an ad on the Facebook marketplace for her white Audi A3 without blocking her license plate.
She said 7News she was not behind the wheel when the other car, of the same make and model, was speeding.
Daniela Pobega (pictured) has been hit with thousands of dollars in speeding fines, but the 71-year-old woman claims her vehicle’s license plates have been cloned
β(It all happened) on the other side of town,β Ms. Pobega said.
βI don’t travel up and down (Ring Rd) every day, especially at my age.β
The person believed to have cloned the license plates was driving another vehicle with the same license plates as Ms Pobega’s car.
The speeding offenses were committed on the ring road at Adreer, about 110 kilometers north of Rosebud.
Ms Pobega, who managed to sell her car on September 20, said the vehicle’s new owner had also been issued fines and demerit points.
The driver has probably since changed the car’s license plates.
Ny Breaking Australia has contacted Victoria Police for comment.
Carsales editor-in-chief Sam Charlwood told it 7News Criminals were known to clone license plates for a variety of reasons, including using them on stolen cars of the same make and model.
“It means they (criminals) can use your license plate to run through speed cameras (and) even commit crimes without the police or authorities having any idea,” Charlwood said.
Ms Pobega says the vehicle’s number plates were cloned after she posted an ad for her Audi A3 (pictured) on the Facebook marketplace, and the car has since been sold.
License plate cloning is the act of counterfeiting the license plate of another vehicle of the same make and model.
This scam usually occurs when someone notes a car’s registration in an advertisement placed for a car with the exact same model specifications.
Criminals can use cloned license plates to drive recklessly, navigate toll roads, and even commit criminal activities using the vehicle with the fake license plates.
Motorists who own the license plates often only find out that their license plates have been cloned when they receive fines and toll bills several months later.
Victims of the crime are urged to contact police and can dispute fines wrongly issued to them by completing a statutory declaration.
Ms Pobega is contesting the penalty points to avoid losing her driver’s license.