Less than a year after Texas eliminated paper license plates to cut down on fraud, officials in Jefferson County say criminals are already finding new ways around the law by cloning legitimate metal plates — a scheme they warn can be difficult to detect and could affect drivers across the state. Texas eliminated paper license plates last July with the goal of stopping fraud at the source. Kate Carroll, the Jefferson County tax assessor-collector, said law enforcement had long raised concerns about paper tags because “They were so easy to reciprocate or make fraudulent plates.” Under the change, dealerships now issue permanent metal plates at the time of purchase. Officials say the move has reduced widespread abuse tied to paper tags, but Carroll said it has also created new challenges. “It’s opened up a whole new world of fraud that unfortunately people are taking advantage of,” Carroll said. Instead of using fake paper tags, Carroll said criminals are now cloning real metal plates, making fraud harder to spot. She said the evolving scheme is already affecting Southeast Texans. Carroll described a case involving a friend in Texas who received a large bill for Florida toll tag violations tied to her license plate number, even though the vehicle details did not match. “It was her license plate and the right everything, wrong vin, wrong car, wrong make and model,” Carroll said. Because the alleged crime occurred across state lines, it was not reported to Southeast Texas law enforcement, Carroll said. She said her friend was able to contest the charges, but warned the situation shows how quickly fraud can shift. “She was able to fight it, but this is the kind of catch up we’re going to play,” Carroll said. “It’s kind of whack-a-mole. Like you take care of one problem and another problem creates itself.” Carroll said the new system remains an improvement overall, but that authorities are now focused on staying ahead of new tactics. “You’ve always got those out there that if they used their smarts for good, like it’d be a great place,” Carroll said. “But unfortunately they’re also using it for fraudulent and trying to get away with cloning plates and that’s a big issue that law enforcement’s dealing with right now.” The Beaumont Police Department said it has not seen that kind of fraud in Beaumont. Officials urged drivers to stay alert for signs their plate may have been cloned.
Criminals find ways around license plate fraud
