Traffic authorities said they will put extra officers to work this year tracking down and seizing "cloned taxis" - cars that have been made to look like real cabs complete with meters and fake license plates.

"The cloned cab business has developed very quickly over the past couple of years. Cracking down on cloned taxis will be a major task of the team for the rest of the year," said Wu Runyuan, an official with Shanghai Traffic Law Enforcement Team.

Wu said the team spotted and seized more than 200 cloned taxis so far this year. Cars with little value were destroyed, while others were auctioned off.

Drivers of cloned cabs face fines of up to 10,000 yuan (US$1,250).

Most of the cloned cabs that have been seized so far were purchased second hand for less than 20,000 yuan, according to Wu. Owners often disguise them as taxis by buying stolen or counterfeit license plates, taxi operation licenses, and meters.

The business cuts into the city's revenues from tax collection and leaves passengers with no legal backing if they get into a dispute with the driver, Wu said.

"You have nowhere to complain if you get into a dispute with such taxi drivers and it's also impossible to track the vehicle down if you leave your belonging in such cabs," Wu said.

A legal taxi driver, Huang Yuming, spotted a taxi with the same license plate number as his last month. He confronted the driver, who offered him money to keep his mouth shut, but turned down the bribe and called police.

Police proved the other vehicle was a fake taxi with a replica of Huang's plate.

Police said an easy way to spot fake cabs is they don't accept public transport cards.

Editor: Yan