No, it’s not that easy to spot cloning. Crooks are very clever. They will use a cloned licence plate for a short spell and then move onto to use another one from another suitably similar vehicle to avoid detection in case they are caught out. This can go on for months. It’s quite common in London where commuters are photographed many times in the congestion zones. A case study showed this type of crime was up 50% in 2017 and increased by another 30% in the first half of 2018 and is now generally out of control.