By bizn_fun 
Car-cloning can be as simple as stealing number plates, but the fraud type has become more sophisticated, leaving buyers of second-hand cars vulnerable.
While there are no official figures for car cloning across the whole of the UK, motoring organisation RAC believes “it’s increasingly widespread”.
Mr Maljian, a physiotherapist and NHS project support officer, said he first saw the three-year-old electric car advertised on Facebook in September and, after messaging the seller, they agreed on an “attractive price” if it was paid for in cash.
He travelled to London and met the seller outside Putney station on 5 October before viewing the car outside the address listed in its DVLA V5C vehicle registration certificate (logbook).
As a car enthusiast who had bought second hand cars before, Mr Maljian believed he had taken every precaution.
“I did all the checks that were recommended by the DVLA,” he told BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours.
“I started first by checking the MOT, I checked the mileage and then I did the Total Car Check. It showed cleared finance, clear HPI, no accidents.
“All the details matched including the mileage, the colour, the specs of the car.”
The seller also showed him what appeared to be a genuine logbook, complete with watermarks and had matching ID.
“There was no reason to question,” he said.