Police will probe car plate scalping
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Beijing's traffic police said it would tackle a rampant rise in the number of scalpers trading car plate combinations inside the police headquarters.
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The statement came in response to a story by Beijing Youth Daily that exposed the illegal trade of license plate combinations in several registration centers citywide.
It reported that new car owners will pay at least twice the standard rate when seeking a "lucky" combination on the black market.
Scalpers allegedly helped the paper's undercover reporter buy a six-digit car plate with "-200" as the final string of numbers, for 500 yuan. The commission charged 300 yuan for each plate.
They also promised better combinations in exchange for commission rates that could reach 1,000 yuan.
The scalpers reportedly told the newspaper they had sources inside the registration office who were able to snatch good combinations before they became available to the public.
No one at the vehicle administration office was available for comment on Thursday.
An officer at the information office of the administration told METRO they would crack down on scalpers.
"We will investigate the cases," said officer Yang Ying.
Car owners said the black market for car plates has been rife for years despite the recent exposure by local media.
"I got my license plate in 2008 when there were already many scalpers selling costly combinations," said Jiang Shanshan, a car owner in Beijing.
"They all claimed their choices of plates were better than what was publicly on offer," he said.
Beijing Youth Daily also claimed the selection computers were flawed since the system does not require a serial number to match an ID card. As a result, scalpers can copy serial numbers from car shops and book unlimited car combinations with their own ID card.
The registration administration declined to reply whether the systems were flawed.
Aside from the newspaper's claims that administration employees were directly responsible for the black market, previous media reports also alleged that drivers' records and their personal IDs were leaked to insurance agents and auto-related companies from the administration offices.
Last March, Beijing restarted the registration of "do-it-yourself" car plate combinations. Car owners pay 500 yuan for a limited choice of letters and numbers.
Beijing now boasts more than 4.13 million vehicles. Authorities said last week they have no plans to control the sale of new vehicles but will likely stick to the ongoing "no-car day" restriction.
