Claim: The first case of carjackers using number plates to trick victims reported in Sapugaskanda.
Fact: It’s a recurring hoax message that has gone viral in other countries before. No such incident in Sapugaskanda, clarify police.
A claim has been going viral on Facebook and WhatsApp about a new “number plate hijacking trend” in Sri Lanka, which purportedly started with one incident in the Sapugaskanda area of the Western province.
The text-only claim has been widely circulated in Sinhala and English, which says:
“There is a new number plate hijacking trend. Hi-jackers follow you to a parking lot, after you leave your vehicle, they remove your number plate and wait. When u come back and drive off, they follow you. They then overtake you, displaying your number plate out of their window as if you just lost it and they want to give it back to you. When you stop to get your number plate back, guns come out and they take the car. Maybe even take you and your car. It’s a very well rehearsed and organised plan and everything happens very quickly. Other motorists may not be aware of what is happening as you stopped the car yourself. Pls alert others to this danger!!! Don’t keep this news. Spread it. This happened a few days ago in the Sapugaskanda police area.”
A few similar examples of the claim can be found here and here on Facebook.
Fact Check/Verification
In looking into this matter, the Newschecker team first did a keyword search of “number plate hijacking”, “Sapugaskanda”, and “carjacking”. We noticed that no mainstream news outlet had reported on such an incident in Sapugaskanda. We also checked the Sri Lanka Police Media Division which regularly releases press notices about criminal activities from around the country, where we did not find any statement about such a case.
Upon further search, we were able to find similar posts going back to 2021, all claiming that a new number plate hijacking trend is emerging out of one incident in the Sapugaskanda area. Here are posts from 2023, 2022, and 2021.
In April 2021, a bus was stolen from Hanwella and was later found with a different number plate in Sapugaskanda. News outlets, too, reported on it in this manner. However, this does not follow the ‘modus operadi’ as described in the viral social media post.
Upon expanding our search to areas beyond Sapugaskanda and Sri Lanka, we noted that similar viral claims have been circulating on Facebook from all over the world, including countries in Africa and the United States. While these posts do not state Sapugaskanda or any other area in Sri Lanka, they mention places in the countries. The carjacking method is the same and each post ends with the same call to action, indicating that it follows a template.
“Pls alert others to this danger!!! Don’t keep this news. Spread it.”
Similar posts can be found here, here, and here.
Upon contacting the Sapugaskanda police station, the Newschecker team was informed that no such number plate hijacking incident had occurred in Sapugaskanda in January 2025 or earlier, and that there was no reason for public panic.
We also came across a Snopes fact-check article from December 21, 2016, debunking the “new carjacking trend”, stating that a 2010 news article from a South Africa-based media outlet reported on the rumor alongside a police officer’s assertion that the rumor was most likely “a hoax”.
Conclusion
The viral claim that the first case of a carjacking trend involving number plates has been reported in Sapugaskanda is false. No such incident, clarify police.
Result: False
Our Sources
News report on a bus stolen from Hanwella and later found with a different number plate in Sapugaskanda, Aruna LK, published on April 21, 2021
Fact Check: ‘Are Thieves Stealing License Plates in a Carjacking Scheme?’, Snopes, published on December 21, 2016
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