A driver who tried to sell her car online has been hit with more than a thousand dollars worth of speeding fines after scammers cloned her number plates.
Daniela Pobega who lives in Rosebud, around 90kms south of Melbourne now has fines worth $1,100 and nine demerit points for speeding accrued to her name.
The 71-year-old grandmother claims her vehicle’s number plates were cloned.
Ms Pobega said her plates were cloned by another motorist after she put up an ad on Facebook marketplace for her white Audi A3 without blocking her registration number.
She told 7News she wasn’t behind the wheel at the time the other car which was the same make and model was caught speeding.
Daniela Pobega (pictured) has racked up thousands of dollars in speeding fines but the 71-year-old woman claims her vehicle’s plates were cloned
‘[It all happened] on the other side of town,’ Ms Pobega said.
‘I’m not travelling up and down [Ring Rd] every day, especially at my age.’
The speeding offences were committed on Ring Road near Adreer, around 110 kilometres north of Rosebud.
Ms Pobega, who managed to sell her car on September 20, said the vehicle’s new owner had also been getting hit with fines and demerit points.
The driver is believed to have since changed the plates on the car.
Daily Mail Australia contacted Victoria Police for comment.
Carsales senior editor Sam Charlwood told 7News criminals were known to clone plates for several reasons, including using them on stolen cars with the same make and model.
‘It means that they [criminals] can use your number plate to run…through speed cameras [and] even conduct crimes without police or authorities having any idea,’ Mr Charlwood said.
Ms Pobega says the vehicle’s number plates were cloned after she put up an ad for her Audi A3 (pictured) on Facebook marketplace, with the car having been sold since
Plate cloning refers to the act of falsifying the registration plate of another vehicle which is of the same make and model.
Criminals can use cloned plates to drive recklessly, drive through tollways and even commit criminal activities using the vehicle with the fake plates.
Motorists who are owners of the plates often don’t find out that their plates have been cloned until they receive fines and toll bills several months later.
Victims of the crime are urged to contact police and can contest fines that have been incorrectly made out to them by filling out a statutory declaration.
Ms Pobega is contesting the demerit points to avoid losing her license.
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