I am shocked, SHOCKED that someone would (possibly) counterfeit an Austin-Healey VIN plate (except for a '100M LeMans,' of course). OTOH, I am strangely heartened that there's still enough interest in our cars to make that crime (possibly) worthwhile.
It's too bad that the original VIN and body plates were attached to the firewall only with two small screws each. That makes it very easy to remove/misplace/lose them, re-create them, or install them on other cars they don't belong to (by mistake or intention, for whatever reason). After documenting and tracking BJ8s for the last 22 years, I can say that there are an incredible number of BJ8s (and, I'm sure, other models) running around now with scrambled identities and many owners aren't even aware of it. Some of them have been sold at well-known venues by well-known restorers with good reputations. I have been trying to spread the word that anyone who is interested in buying a BJ8 should check with the BJ8 Registry to see what information about it is available BEFORE buying it. It's better to know what you are buying up front before money is exchanged, rather than to be surprised later on. Of course, many people don't care about the integrity of a car and the "numbers" are not important to them, especially if the title agrees with the VIN plate. But are the plates original, and do they belong to THAT car?
A good part of my time as BJ8 Registrar has been spent trying to determine the true identities of cars that are discovered to be incorrect and (whenever possible) get them officially restored to what they should be. Sometimes that is relatively easy, or impossible, depending on the particular registration authority involved. Whenever the VIN of a car is not included in a sales description, I am always suspicious of the reason for the reluctance.