CAR buyers are being warned about a sophisticated trick which could see them buying a stolen vehicle.

Colchester police are reminding anyone investing in a vehicle to take some basic steps to try and avoid being caught out.

The warning comes after it emerged the Association of Chief Police Officers’ Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service recovered 726 stolen vehicles since mid-2007 that had been cloned.

Criminals use a car’s details to create a false identity for an identical stolen vehicle.

Unsuspecting buyers are then left either with the hassle of changing their license plate and liaising with police and the DVLA because the car they have bought has been cloned, or to have bought a stolen car which had been given the cloned details of another vehicle.

Det Chief Insp Mark Hooper, head of the vehicle crime intelligence service, said: “Now criminals have the technology to clone vehicles, it’s even more important motorists follow the correct procedures when purchasing a car.

“Car cloning is a double-edged sword. Motorists can either own a car that is then cloned, or purchase a cloned car; either way, it can cause an extreme amount of aggravation and inconvenience.”

The sophisticated technique is on the increase, and while Colchester district commander Adrian Coombs does not believe it is a problem in the borough, he is urging people to be aware.

He said: “Check the address where you are viewing the vehicle corresponds with the registration document; check the car’s service record and MoT certificate; ensure the logbook, or V5, correctly describes the vehicle make, model and engine number. If you believe the vehicle may be stolen please contact police on 0300 3334444.”