We had a vehicle which was an insurance write-off after a minor collision -- it doesn't take much on these modern things with no chassis when they get a bit of age to sap the value -- which was disposed of via the insurance company.
The numberplate popped up in connection with some sort of fraud/theft on the south coast.
My brother's similarly dead car popped up on a speed camera down London way. (The insurance were going to fix it until they noticed the engine had acquired a crack, as well as the front grille getting shoved in. Maybe somebody had a good engine from a rear-ended vehicle, but they didn't do the paperwork right if they did.)
There's a lot of fake plates about.