Buyers warned to remain vigilant for cloned motorcycles

Tracker have issued a warning for motorcycle buyers to be wary of cloned machinery with the International Association of Auto Theft Investigators claiming that nearly a third of all vehicles on UK roads are likely to have cloned registration plates. 

Cloning a vehicle makes it seem legitimate to use on UK roads by replicating the unique Vehicle Identification Number and pairing it with a stolen V5 or logbook to give the motorcycle an identity that appears legitimate.

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“Fraudsters continue to use more sophisticated methods to hide the true identity of stolen motorcycles and then sell them on to innocent buyers who think they’re getting a dream bike at a bargain price,” said Andy Barrs, Head of Police Liaison at Tracker. “The majority of bikes that are stolen are less than three years old and a staggering 80% of all cloned motorcycles end up in the dealer network.”

A stolen vehicle is a lot more difficult for police to identify and makes it a lot easier for a thief to sell on. Securing your motorcycle, fitting a tracking device and making it easier to identify with secure markings, such as those offered by Datatag, will make the vehicle harder to steal and move on, especially to those who want to try and clone a machine as there are more ways of identifying it.

Buyers are warned against motorcycles that are being sold at very cheap prices – with cloned motorcycles often being offered with a price tag that’s extremely tempting to entice a quick sale.

Cash only sales are a risky business too as sellers of stolen bikes are looking for a transaction that can’t be traced back to them. Paying more than £3000 for a vehicle should never be done with cash only – with crooks more likely to walk away from a sale that might link them to the stolen vehicle in any way.

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