Registration Number fraud! Someone else using my number plate

kadanaJ · 18th April 2012, 06:00

It seems to be some sort of scam to trick and/or extort money out of you.

It is unlikely (though possible) that there really is an Eeco driving around with your plates duping people. It seems more probable these so called 'victims' have some plan up their sleeves.

They should not have been able to get your address from the RTO with just the number plate, and why approach you or your neighbour. Why not go straight to the police?

Palio_2005 · 18th April 2012, 09:52

Thanks for your guidance. I intend to make a police complaint about this immediately when I am back in Pune. I will also talk to a lawyer on this.

lsp · 18th April 2012, 16:08

I find it odd that both the victims met your neighbor. Why did they not go to police if they were cheated by this guy? Better contact the police to be on the safer side. Who knows, a third person may come and claim it was an i10 which was involved.

GTO · 18th April 2012, 16:35

After you file the police complaint, please also let the RTO know via a "Regd. A.D." post.

shreeps · 18th April 2012, 20:30

My 2 cents:
As some people have pointed out, unless you are sure that there is someone using your number plate, you have no position to make a police complaint. Ideally the persons who have allegedly been duped should make the complaint.

What you shoud do is go to a good lawyer and find out what you should do to protect yourself if:

1. The alleged victims are genuine
2. The alleged victims are trying to perpetrate a scam

Please do keep us posted on this.

srishiva · 18th April 2012, 20:45

I was already worried with SMS services where you get some details about the cars. In a country like ours where its easy to get lost after doing something these are dangerous.

You should file a case against the authorities for letting someone come to your address. It should have been the concerned authorities who should have done that.

cannon · 18th April 2012, 20:54

I heard a similar story from my cab driver, He got traffic violation fine receipts from places where had never been at that point of the day. He caught the vehicle bearing his number in the railway station. He informed the police and they were able to catch the person who reportedly had stolen 7 cars and was using different cab registration numbers.

Sowmya · 18th April 2012, 23:41

Nothing new though. Recently I had been to Traffic Control System Bangalore. They showed us few example like this. That's why now the cops note down the color and the model of the vehicle while raising any violation. They say it may be also a vehicle where they change reg no V to Y or vice versa to escape from Bank agent.

However suggest to put a immediate complaint with police to avoid unnecessary harassment.

Altocumulus · 19th April 2012, 09:31

The sms service doesn't work anymore. It just gives the registration and road tax validity. However the Vahan website gives the entire details even how much you paid for buying the car, provided you have the last 5 digits of the chasis number as well.

Getting details from the RTO is not an issue if you know someone there. Also if you go and tell them that you are buying the car and want to check the ownership and pending cases, they will readily give it to you. This is a practice encouraged by the authorities so that one doesn't end up buying a stolen car.

As people mentioned, first you need to be sure how genuine these victims are. However make sure you get a GD done immediately. I would suggest you send someone from your house or a friend immediately before anything else happens and not wait till you return.

pjbiju · 19th April 2012, 09:39

I once had police calling me up to enquire about my bike. Apparently they had arrested a person with a stolen bike. They traced the owner from RTO and reached me because the stolen bike had the same registration number as my bike. I confirmed the details of my bike and said that it was still with me. The police told me that they would contact me if needed. But they never did.

I do not think you need to do anything, other than as GTO mentioned, informing the RTO and the traffic police department about what has happened including the contact numbers of the people who have been duped (if you have the contact details).

james · 19th April 2012, 09:48

Just for the record, anyone can walk into any RTO office, give the guy at the payment coutner 10 bucks(fee) along with the reg # and ask for a B-Extract.
The B-extract is a printout which gives all the vehicle details like owners name, address, engine and chassis #, hypothication details etc etc etc.

My advice would be to speak to your local cop and see what he says. If the guys cheated get back to you, get their details, take them along to the station and lodge an FIR. Sort this out now before things go out of hand!

Jakku · 19th April 2012, 11:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by drsnt

On the side note this seems to be a organised racket to dupe you into getting out some money. Why would a person never approach police and try to find vehicle himself when he has registration number with himself??? I seriously doubt the credibility of the victims.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lsp

I find it odd that both the victims met your neighbor. Why did they not go to police if they were cheated by this guy? Better contact the police to be on the safer side. Who knows, a third person may come and claim it was an i10 which was involved.

I also second these opinions. I really doubt the credibility of these so called victims as their acts are doubtful. Their only intention would be to extort some money. So as others suggested, even I would urge you to contact your lawyer. I had met with an accident and the issue was solved mutually on the spot. Many of my friends advised me to lodge an FIR for record purposes, but I thought otherwise and I had to pay the price for it. Couple of months later they turned at my residence with a lot of people and their sole intention was to extort some money. Luckily I was at office at that time and I got my colleagues to my help and lodged an FIR then and there and got the issue resolved (even then I was forced to pay Rs.5000).

Palio_2005 · 19th April 2012, 11:54

Hi All. Thanks for your valuable solutions. Both victims have given me their contact numbers and have informed me that they are ready to come to the police station (they too are filing FIR's independently). Looks like the victims are genuine. I will be meeting them this weekend. Shall keep you guys posted.

mmxylorider · 19th April 2012, 12:09

There is some logic in the way the registration numbers are provided. A knowledgable traffic cop can spot few things quite easily.
1. A car running on 2 wheeler plates and vice versa.
2. Older series number on a newer looking vehicle
3. cabs running on pvt plates and vice versa.

Catching someone using your plates is difficult and there is no way to find out unless the impersator gets into some incident.

I recently saw an i10 with MH12HH series number (which to my knowledge is a 2wheeler series). The numbers was a fancy one so it is quite possible it was done legitimately.

A cousin was telling me, in MP, the practice of using numbers of impounded vehicles gathering dust is quite rampant on out of state vehicles. They just ensure the make/model matches.

travelwriter · 19th April 2012, 12:24

As far filing a report with the police is concerned, it need not be an FIR. I believe there is a provision wherein you can register a non-FIR complaint stating the reason and what you fear might happen in the future. This is treated as a genuine complaint but not as an FIR. You can explore this. I am not aware of the legal jargon for this kind of a complaint.

How it will help is that in case someone lodges a complaint against your car number, you can always have the authorities refer to your note.

In case someone can confirm this procedure, it will be great. I am only suggesting this from what I heard from a few friends.

18th April 2012, 06:00	#16
kadanaJ BHPian Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Mumbai Posts: 585 Thanked: 958 Times	Re: Number Plate copied It seems to be some sort of scam to trick and/or extort money out of you. It is unlikely (though possible) that there really is an Eeco driving around with your plates duping people. It seems more probable these so called 'victims' have some plan up their sleeves. They should not have been able to get your address from the RTO with just the number plate, and why approach you or your neighbour. Why not go straight to the police?
	() Thanks

18th April 2012, 09:52	#17
Palio_2005 BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Pune Posts: 991 Thanked: 878 Times	Re: Number Plate copied Thanks for your guidance. I intend to make a police complaint about this immediately when I am back in Pune. I will also talk to a lawyer on this.
	() Thanks

18th April 2012, 16:08	#18
lsp BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: New Delhi Posts: 381 Thanked: 188 Times	Re: Number Plate copied I find it odd that both the victims met your neighbor. Why did they not go to police if they were cheated by this guy? Better contact the police to be on the safer side. Who knows, a third person may come and claim it was an i10 which was involved.
	() Thanks

18th April 2012, 16:35	#19
GTO Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 70,549 Thanked: 300,796 Times View My Garage	Re: Registration Number fraud! Someone else using my number plate After you file the police complaint, please also let the RTO know via a "Regd. A.D." post.
	(2) Thanks

18th April 2012, 20:30	#20
shreeps BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Pune Posts: 271 Thanked: 20 Times	Re: Registration Number fraud! Someone else using my number plate My 2 cents: As some people have pointed out, unless you are sure that there is someone using your number plate, you have no position to make a police complaint. Ideally the persons who have allegedly been duped should make the complaint. What you shoud do is go to a good lawyer and find out what you should do to protect yourself if: 1. The alleged victims are genuine 2. The alleged victims are trying to perpetrate a scam Please do keep us posted on this.
	() Thanks

18th April 2012, 20:45	#21
srishiva Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 4,375 Thanked: 2,256 Times	Re: Registration Number fraud! Someone else using my number plate I was already worried with SMS services where you get some details about the cars. In a country like ours where its easy to get lost after doing something these are dangerous. You should file a case against the authorities for letting someone come to your address. It should have been the concerned authorities who should have done that.
	() Thanks

18th April 2012, 20:54	#22
cannon BHPian Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 46 Thanked: 36 Times	Re: Registration Number fraud! Someone else using my number plate I heard a similar story from my cab driver, He got traffic violation fine receipts from places where had never been at that point of the day. He caught the vehicle bearing his number in the railway station. He informed the police and they were able to catch the person who reportedly had stolen 7 cars and was using different cab registration numbers.
	() Thanks

18th April 2012, 23:41	#23
Sowmya BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 493 Thanked: 19 Times View My Garage	Re: Registration Number fraud! Someone else using my number plate Nothing new though. Recently I had been to Traffic Control System Bangalore. They showed us few example like this. That's why now the cops note down the color and the model of the vehicle while raising any violation. They say it may be also a vehicle where they change reg no V to Y or vice versa to escape from Bank agent. However suggest to put a immediate complaint with police to avoid unnecessary harassment.
	() Thanks

19th April 2012, 09:31	#24
Altocumulus Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: NCR/ KOL/ BLR Posts: 1,142 Thanked: 2,056 Times View My Garage	Re: Registration Number fraud! Someone else using my number plate The sms service doesn't work anymore. It just gives the registration and road tax validity. However the Vahan website gives the entire details even how much you paid for buying the car, provided you have the last 5 digits of the chasis number as well. Getting details from the RTO is not an issue if you know someone there. Also if you go and tell them that you are buying the car and want to check the ownership and pending cases, they will readily give it to you. This is a practice encouraged by the authorities so that one doesn't end up buying a stolen car. As people mentioned, first you need to be sure how genuine these victims are. However make sure you get a GD done immediately. I would suggest you send someone from your house or a friend immediately before anything else happens and not wait till you return.
	() Thanks

19th April 2012, 09:39	#25
pjbiju Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Pune Posts: 1,358 Thanked: 1,092 Times	Re: Registration Number fraud! Someone else using my number plate I once had police calling me up to enquire about my bike. Apparently they had arrested a person with a stolen bike. They traced the owner from RTO and reached me because the stolen bike had the same registration number as my bike. I confirmed the details of my bike and said that it was still with me. The police told me that they would contact me if needed. But they never did. I do not think you need to do anything, other than as GTO mentioned, informing the RTO and the traffic police department about what has happened including the contact numbers of the people who have been duped (if you have the contact details).
	() Thanks

19th April 2012, 09:48	#26
james BHPian Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Mangalore Posts: 597 Thanked: 645 Times	Re: Registration Number fraud! Someone else using my number plate Just for the record, anyone can walk into any RTO office, give the guy at the payment coutner 10 bucks(fee) along with the reg # and ask for a B-Extract. The B-extract is a printout which gives all the vehicle details like owners name, address, engine and chassis #, hypothication details etc etc etc. My advice would be to speak to your local cop and see what he says. If the guys cheated get back to you, get their details, take them along to the station and lodge an FIR. Sort this out now before things go out of hand!
	() Thanks

19th April 2012, 11:54	#28
Palio_2005 BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Pune Posts: 991 Thanked: 878 Times	Re: Registration Number fraud! Someone else using my number plate Hi All. Thanks for your valuable solutions. Both victims have given me their contact numbers and have informed me that they are ready to come to the police station (they too are filing FIR's independently). Looks like the victims are genuine. I will be meeting them this weekend. Shall keep you guys posted.
	() Thanks

19th April 2012, 12:09	#29
mmxylorider BHPian Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Austin, TX, USA Posts: 950 Thanked: 620 Times	Re: Registration Number fraud! Someone else using my number plate There is some logic in the way the registration numbers are provided. A knowledgable traffic cop can spot few things quite easily. 1. A car running on 2 wheeler plates and vice versa. 2. Older series number on a newer looking vehicle 3. cabs running on pvt plates and vice versa. Catching someone using your plates is difficult and there is no way to find out unless the impersator gets into some incident. I recently saw an i10 with MH12HH series number (which to my knowledge is a 2wheeler series). The numbers was a fancy one so it is quite possible it was done legitimately. A cousin was telling me, in MP, the practice of using numbers of impounded vehicles gathering dust is quite rampant on out of state vehicles. They just ensure the make/model matches.
	() Thanks

19th April 2012, 12:24	#30
travelwriter BHPian Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 294 Thanked: 115 Times	Re: Registration Number fraud! Someone else using my number plate As far filing a report with the police is concerned, it need not be an FIR. I believe there is a provision wherein you can register a non-FIR complaint stating the reason and what you fear might happen in the future. This is treated as a genuine complaint but not as an FIR. You can explore this. I am not aware of the legal jargon for this kind of a complaint. How it will help is that in case someone lodges a complaint against your car number, you can always have the authorities refer to your note. In case someone can confirm this procedure, it will be great. I am only suggesting this from what I heard from a few friends.
	() Thanks