You have just bought a secondhand car. It was older than you wanted, but were reassured because it had recently passed its MOT.

Within a few days, you notice a problem with the steering and take it into a garage to be checked. As well as that issue, they find the tread depth of the tyres is so low it should not have passed the test.

You have been the victim of a “ghost MOT”. Although you have a certificate clearly saying the vehicle was successfully checked over, no such examination ever took place.

The fraud happens when a garage, or a mechanic, claims to have done the inspections but has simply logged in the system that the vehicle has passed. In some instances, this can happen without the vehicle even being in the garage.

The MOT, designed to ensure minimum standards in vehicles, usually more than three years old, is a test carried out in 23,000 accredited garages around the UK that takes about 45 minutes to carry out by approved testers.

Car owners can become victims of “ghost MOTs” if they buy from a dealer, or individual, who has paid a rogue mechanic to pass the car. Or you may have taken the car to a garage to be tested but the work was not done.

Andy Turbefield, the head of quality at the retailer Halfords, says drivers often only realise they have been the victim of the scam when they take their car into another garage after spotting a fault.

“Consumers could be blissfully unaware that the vehicle they think has an MOT actually hasn’t been anywhere near an MOT garage, or an MOT bay,” he says.

Earlier this year, a mechanic and an MOT tester were given suspended sentences for issuing “ghost MOTs”.

Drivers who have been defrauded with a false pass could later find that their car has worn brake pads, bald tyres or faulty lights. Fixing these problems will cost more money and risk an accident.

If a car with a fake MOT is involved in an accident, the insurance company may probe the test, which could then lead to the company refusing to pay.

What it looks like

A genuine MOT certificate, because it is one. The fraudster has registered the car as passed, so the records will show that it has.

What to do

KwikFit, the car repair chain, advises drivers to go to a garage where staff are willing to talk through the MOT process, and tell you what tests will be done. They should talk through any advisory notes, or reasons for failure in the test, and only do repairs with your approval. Use garages with trusted reputations which have positive reviews.

The average MOT takes between 40 and 50 minutes, so beware of somewhere which has a very quick turnaround time, says Turbefield. “If they tell you to come back in half an hour to collect the car, that’s a clear warning,” he says.

And beware of offers that are much cheaper than other garages. The maximum amount that can be charged for an MOT on a car is £54.85.

There are some checks you can carry out after the MOT to ensure it has been done. correctly.

Turbefield says: “The classic example would be lights not working – brake lights, headlights or indicators.”

If you have bought a secondhand car, then look closely at the MOT history. If the certificate was issued on the day the car was collected, or bought, this could be cause for concern. And if an old car has a completely clean MOT history, with no advisory notes, that could also be a red flag.

You can report a garage that you feel has given an MOT certificate to a vehicle that should have failed, or that was not tested to the DVSA, via its website.

The agency has been trialling new systems where testers must photograph vehicles during testing, and upload the images.