“Twin cars”: The Supreme Court has sorted out the problem of cars with the same license plates

What are twin cars and why are they created?

A duplicate is a car that is created to match an existing car that has the same make, color, model, license plates and body number. Copies are created in order to avoid paying fines from cameras for traffic violations. Drivers put fake license plates on their cars that belong to another car of the same make, color and model. If the driver of the double breaks the rules on the road, fines from cameras are sent to the owner of the original car.

Also, with the help of a copy, criminals hide the fact of theft or illegal import into the country. If a car is stolen or illegally imported into Russia, it must be legalized. To do this, scammers look for a car with the same parameters as the stolen one and copy its data from the title.

Also read: How car pickers deceive customers

Dangers

This scheme can work for quite a long time until one of the cars is deregistered.

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After the new registration, the car receives new license plates, and this is where the problems begin - all the other “doubles” end up outside the traffic police base.

Such cars often “pop up” when trying to sell them and deregister them with the MREO or during periodic raids on the roads with checking documents and checking license plates.

If the car is not found in the database, then problems are guaranteed.

Fraud can also be revealed when re-equipping a car, for example, installing an LPG system. Often such work must be accompanied by changes to the vehicle's registration certificate, and this is where a clone will be discovered.

The result is transportation of the car to a fine yard and lengthy legal battles that can last for several months, or even years.

It is enough to read on the Internet the reviews of numerous unfortunates who found themselves in such a situation.

How to understand that the purchased car is a double

It is very difficult to determine that the car you are buying is a duplicate. By punching a car through the database, you will see the history of the original. Even if you are stopped by traffic police inspectors, they will not be able to understand that your car is a twin. Only forensic examination can establish the fact of twinning.

You will drive a car, suspecting nothing, until you start receiving fines from cameras for violations that you did not commit, or the original gets into an accident or is deregistered.

At the same time, your violations will also be sent to the original car. If the owner of the original disputes the fines and it turns out that they were earned by a double, that is, your car, you will become a defendant in a criminal case.

In the video you can see how to determine a broken VIN code of a car:

Also read: Don't believe it! The most popular myths about buying a used car

What to do if you are already “caught”?

If it so happened that your car turned out to be a double, and this was discovered by a traffic police officer, then there are few options - you will have to prove your innocence and ownership of the vehicle in court.

But you need to be prepared for serious material and time costs. A special expense item is hiring a good lawyer, who will, of course, require a considerable fee for his services.

The worst thing is that no one gives guarantees of victory in court - the car may remain in the penalty area. In addition, even if you manage to return a car you honestly bought, you still won’t be able to drive it.

There is only one way for such a “double” - sale for spare parts or scrap metal.

Let's consider another situation when the legal purity of the car is beyond doubt (for example, you took it from a reputable car dealership when it was new).

But suddenly it happened that on the road you saw a clone of your car - the same make, model and with similar license plates.

In addition, fines are sent to your address for violations that you have never heard of, or subpoenas for proceedings on a specific accident.

No matter how stupid it may be, you will still have to go to court to prove your innocence in such an episode.

If a “double” is discovered or there are serious suspicions about its existence, it is necessary to act as quickly as possible - immediately contact the traffic police with a corresponding statement and a demand to deal with the current situation.

Of course, in this case you will have to spend some time and money, but it is still better than having to spend a long time proving your ownership of the car and your non-involvement in fraudulent activities.

What are the dangers of buying a duplicate car?

If the original gets into an accident, you will receive a summons to court, where you will have to prove that it was not you who caused the accident. If the original is deregistered, your car will disappear from the traffic police database. If it turns out that your car is not in the database, the car will be taken to the impound lot. Then a long trial will begin to establish the authenticity of the car.

A criminal case will be initiated under Article 326 of the Criminal Code for falsifying vehicle identification numbers, which carries a penalty of up to two years in prison. If you prove your innocence, the trial could drag on for years.

If you send a request to the investigator to release the car after the examinations, the car may be returned, but you will not be able to sell it or dismantle it. You will have to sell the car for parts or sell it for scrap.

If you try to sell a double, you will fall under Article 175 of the Criminal Code for selling an illegal car. The penalty is up to five years in prison. Even if you can sell the car, the fact of “duplicity” will be revealed when registering the car. The new owner will file a claim and involve the police. A criminal case will be opened under the above article for the sale of property obtained by criminal means.

In practice, it is difficult to get the car back. Essentially, you will lose both the car and the money you paid for it.

Also read: 5 signs that you should not buy a used car

What kind of cars are these?

Double cars are cars identical in appearance with the same license plates and technical documents. However, only one of them is original, and the second one has fake numbers and documents. Thus, one buyer acquires real, legal equipment, and the second risks losing both money and the car, because... it cannot be used.

There are 2 types of twins:

1. The cars have the same license plates and technical vehicle passport (PTS), but the VIN code (number) remains original. Such a deception is quite easy to uncover: you need to check your passport with the code.
2. The cars not only have the same license plates and title, but also VIN numbers. Marking plates are professionally altered, and therefore only an expert examination can reveal a fake. This is the most complex type of fraud, determined, as a rule, by indirect signs.

How do they appear?

In this way, scammers sell cars obtained by criminal means. They accumulate information in advance about real vehicles owned by respectable car enthusiasts. They are interested in the license plate number, technical documentation, VIN code, and then all this is transferred to the illegal car. The main options for the appearance of car doubles on the market:

• remaking a car abroad and driving it without customs clearance;
• fitting a stolen car in Russia to a real vehicle.

The nature of such fraud is closely related to corruption schemes. It is possible to collude with the owner of a real car to simulate theft to copy a double.

A common option for obtaining real documents is theft. The traffic police issues a duplicate PTS to the owner of the car, and the stolen passport “pops up” along with the double.

How not to buy a double car

To avoid buying a duplicate car, use the following recommendations:

• Don't be fooled by the low price tag. If a car is suspiciously cheap, be wary: most likely, it is a bait. An elite foreign car will never be sold at the price of a LADA.
• Buy a car only from the owner. The owner’s passport data must match the data specified in the vehicle title and the purchase and sale agreement.
• Sign an agreement, not a power of attorney, and indicate in it the amount paid for the car.
• Take a forensic expert for the deal, who will confirm the authenticity of the markings of components and assemblies. You can contact a private expert or an organization specializing in forensic examinations. The cost of the service in Russian regions varies from 10 to 35 thousand rubles. We advise you not to skimp: it is better to pay a specialist than to lose money and a car and become a participant in criminal proceedings. The expert will check the authenticity of the VIN code and determine whether changes have been made to it. If they are found, it is better to refuse the purchase.

Pay attention to how the seller behaves. If he is nervous and refuses to provide documents, walk away from the deal. An honest seller will not interfere with inspections.

Also read: 7 “surprises” that will prevent you from registering a car after purchase

Terminology

To understand the issue in detail, you need an understanding of the following concepts:

• The vehicle's PTS is the main document of the “iron horse”, which is issued by specialized services as a permit for use on public roads;

  

• factory marking of the car, the main element of which is the identification number (Vehicle identification number). The VIN is a unique code assigned to each vehicle by the manufacturer. The VIN number is stamped onto permanent body parts or chassis; additional information is indicated on marking plates (sometimes in the form of stickers). VIN is the most important identification mark of a car, therefore making changes to the number is strictly prohibited and punishable by law;

  

• car number plate is an individual registration plate assigned to identify a vehicle and indicating that the car belongs to a particular jurisdiction.

  

Definition

A car-double is a vehicle that moves using the identification data of a car, the operation of which on public roads is fully legalized. In other words, a legally purchased and registered vehicle will have an outwardly identical car, with an individual registration plate, as well as information in the title, completely identical to the “original” car.

Depending on the degree of data match, there are several types of “doubles”:

• the cars have the same registration numbers, the PTS of the “clone” exactly repeats the passport of the “original”, but the double still has the original VIN number. You can rarely see such cars, since the deception can be easily revealed during a check at any stationary traffic police post, simply by checking the data on the vehicle title and the marking plate with the VIN;
• The cars have the same not only registration plates and information in the PTS, but also all the data on the marking plates. In this case, the twin car can be identified by indirect signs of interference with the identification marking.

Nature of occurrence

There can be several ways for a “sister/brother” of a real car to be born:

• the car is imported from abroad. Often the car is stolen, sometimes the theft is staged by prior agreement with the owner. In the latter case, the buyer receives a machine for creating a double at a significantly reduced price. The seller's benefit is that as soon as the sold car enters the territory of the country in which all fraudulent activities will take place, a report of theft is filed. The car appears in the Interpol database, and the owner receives compensation from the insurance company. In both cases, the cars are not cleared through customs. Corruption schemes are used to cross the border and evade tax payments. Often, cars from abroad are specially selected for ready-made documents (known information about an actually existing car in the country). Sometimes car owners themselves post basic information about their car online, and most importantly, the VIN number, but even without this, scammers have enough “channels” to obtain data;
• the cars come from the same country. In this case, the scheme is designed for stolen cars. The identification plates of the stolen car are adjusted to match the actual car.

At the same time, there may be significantly more variations in methods of obtaining information, crossing borders and other aspects of fraudulent schemes. For example, documents from a real-life car can be legally purchased separately from the car or with the remains of a vehicle that has been in a serious accident. Alternatively, the owner of the car could have had his documents stolen along with his wallet. In replacement of the lost PTS, the traffic police will issue a duplicate with special notes indicating “Instead of the lost one.” Only an inexperienced thief can throw away a stolen vehicle title. If we talk about the value of the document, the price for a title can reach up to 10% of the market value of the car.

"Clones" on the roads

Smart scammers try to select documents so that the registration regions of the real car and the duplicate car are at least several hundred kilometers from each other. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to find a copy of your car. You can find out about its existence through the website for checking fines. Since you are assigned to the license plates in the traffic police database, fines received by the duplicate car will be sent to your account. If you have received photographic evidence of the violation and are sure that your car could in no way be in the specified place and at the specified time, immediately go to the traffic police.

Please note that you will definitely need evidence to back up your claims. These could be recordings from outdoor surveillance cameras, of which there are really a lot now.

Since turning cars into “doubles” is a criminal offense, the authorities themselves are interested in catching scammers.

How not to buy a double

Signs that indicate a double car:

• discrepancy between the actual year of manufacture of glazing and seat belts and the date indicated in the PTS. On all cars, the glass markings indicate the year of its production. It is likely that the glass may be, for example, manufactured in 2011, and the car rolled off the assembly line at the beginning of 2012. But the year of manufacture of the car cannot in any way precede the year of manufacture of all the glass. If you notice a discrepancy between all the original glass, then in 99% of cases you either have a double car or you have turned it over. The same verification method applies to belt tags;
• traces of re-embossing or welding of the bar into the location of the VIN number. Even before the inspection, study the locations of identification markings on the car you have chosen (the most common: pillar support, engine shield, floor near the front passenger seat, trunk, door pillar). Unfortunately, the qualifications of master fraudsters are often so high that only an experienced forensic expert can notice traces of interference. To avoid buying a problem car, you can contact an expert of this profile before purchasing. Having your car inspected by a specialist will prevent you from making a mistake and subsequently losing a large sum;
• reconciliation of numbered units. The PTS indicates the engine number, and for frame cars also the frame number, so a mismatch in the combination of numbers will be a reason to think about it. Numbers can also be re-coined, this is done in order to cover their tracks. Therefore, a well-done job is more likely to be identified by a forensic expert. If the number is erased, then it is likely that this is a stolen car. Please note that such an engine could be installed instead of the standard one, so you should not draw hasty conclusions;
• checking the contents through electronic resources. Using the VIN code, you can find out the vehicle's equipment in order to check the availability of functions in the car you are inspecting. If there are differences, this is a “double”;
• compatibility of the door cylinder and the key in the key fob (relevant for cars with keyless entry and a start-stop button);
• computer diagnostics. For many modern cars, the VIN number is recorded in the “brains” of the car. You can recognize your double using diagnostic equipment, since the data in the PTS and in the “brains” will not match.

Legal issue

In the market for used vehicles, duplicate cars are dangerous because checking against various traffic police databases, mortgaged or stolen cars may not give any positive results. After all, you will be checking information on a real car. What to do in this case? The best way not to buy a duplicate car is to pay for the car after re-registration with the traffic police. Sellers of “doubles” will under no circumstances go with the new owner to the traffic police for re-registration. Refrain from buying by proxy if the person who is selling you the car is not listed on the title.

"AutoBot" to help the population

Has a duplicate car been discovered? What should a vehicle owner do? If a person has purchased a “problem” vehicle, he needs to look for scammers, go to court and the police. It is possible that after finding the deceivers, it will be possible to get back the money spent on the purchase of movable property. Does the car have a double? What to do? Answering this question won't be a hassle anymore!

But before buying a car second-hand, as a rule, citizens try to check the vehicle in every possible way. The AutoBot portal can help with this. It is also shareware, but you will have to pay for the full report.

Instructions for using this method look like this:

1. Go to the “AutoBot” website and select the “Check...” menu item.
2. Enter vehicle details.
3. Click on the “Check” button.
4. Click the “Order full report” button.
5. Select a payment method, and enter information about the car in the designated fields.
6. Confirm the payment.
7. Review the vehicle report.

Has a duplicate car been discovered in Russia? What to do? Refuse the deal and report such an “event” to law enforcement agencies. They will catch the scammers and punish them according to the law.

What are the dangers of having a car double?

The buyer of the duplicate car bears full responsibility for the use of an illegal vehicle. When purchasing, he must check the legality of the transaction and not chase unreasonably low prices. The owner of a real car suffers completely innocently.

Can traffic cops fine you?

• One of the most common troubles is fines for minor traffic violations. A receipt for their payment comes from the traffic police, information comes from CCTV cameras: the number of the duplicate offender is recorded, and it coincides with the license plate of the original. It can be quite difficult to prove that you are right, and therefore you have to pay.
• Another option is a traffic accident. The report notes the license plate number and VIN code of the person responsible for the accident, which are identical to the license plates of the original car. As a result, at a minimum, the insurer will be notified under MTPL, and this will affect payments. In addition, there may be a demand for compensation for losses, and this is already legal proceedings.

The owner of a twin car faces significant problems. If a citizen had no idea about buying a duplicate car, then the simplest thing that traffic cops can do is to impose a fine in accordance with Article 12.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation in the amount of up to 5,000 rubles and deprive of a driver’s license for a period of 1-3 months. If a fake is detected, the owner will be denied registration of the vehicle , which means that it cannot be used. The court rarely recognizes the right to registration.

Other consequences

The most serious problems arise in severe road accidents, when the double culprit fled the scene of the accident. In this case, investigative actions within the framework of a criminal case cannot be avoided. In the best case, the innocent owner of a genuine car will have to forget about driving it for a while and prove his innocence. A miscarriage of justice cannot be ruled out if innocence cannot be proven.

Possible loan fraud. The owner of the double deliberately takes out a large loan secured by the car, leaves the original title and disappears. Problems arise with the owner of the original. In this case, there is again a trial and difficulties in evidence.

A conscientious buyer of a duplicate car finds himself in a difficult situation when a serious accident occurs. As part of a criminal case, such a car will be confiscated as evidence. The examination will definitely reveal the broken numbers, which means punishment cannot be avoided. Even when a criminal case ends with a fine, the car can only be returned under the obligation not to use or sell it.