On July 1, Texas drivers will see a massive change with temporary license plates after the Texas legislature voted to eliminate paper tags.
온라인카지노사이트 5 Investigates began a series of award-winning reports in 2022, uncovering how fraudulent paper license tags had become a tool for criminals to conceal their identities and evade police.
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WATCH HEREThe paper trail ends this summer, bringing cheers from many in law enforcement and questions from drivers about what will happen next.
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SIGN UP There aren't many cities where police look forward to the end of paper tags more than in Grand Prairie. Police Chief Daniel Scesney has battled to rid the streets of paper tags ever since the November 2022 death of police officer Brandon Tsai, who was killed in a crash pursuing a driver with a fraudulent paper tag.
Scesney said the state's move away from temporary paper tags will be a "game changer" for law enforcement.
"Presently, our officers are taking fake paper tags off the street every day," Scesney said. "The tag that was on the vehicle he [Tsai] was chasing was also scanned on over 200 other vehicles."
More than three years ago, 온라인카지노사이트 5 Investigates showed how fraudulent paper tags had become a multi-million-dollar black market industry.
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In our first report, we flew over what was, on paper, the "biggest" car dealer in North Texas. From our helicopter, we found a vacant lot with no cars. Someone using the address obtained a car dealer's license and issued more than 17,000 paper tags in only eight months—more than any brand-name dealer in North Texas.
Sgt. Joe Escribano, a license plate fraud investigator with the Precinct 3 Travis County Constable's Office, told us in November 2022, "There's no way, absolutely no way, you know? I mean, there's just no way you can't get 17,000 cars there."
Law enforcement experts told 온라인카지노사이트 5 Investigates the problem was that anyone could get a dealer's license for just a few hundred dollars, often with no in-person background check. License holders could then access the state's electronic tag system, enter fake information, and print real Texas paper tags. The tags were then sold illegally on social media.
Those bogus tags were sometimes put on cars used to commit other crimes, creating "ghost cars" that were harder for police to track.
"This is something that has been a tidal wave of an issue of criminals, organized crime, human traffickers, violent offenders, using these paper tags as a criminal instrument," Scesney said.
온라인카지노사이트 5 Investigates documented how fraudulent tags were involved in drive-by shootings and even in smuggling operations along the U.S.-Mexico border.
As we reported on the issue, the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles made leadership changes, implemented stricter background checks on license holders, and shut down so-called dealers suspected of illegally selling temporary tags.
The state legislature then passed a law that went into effect on July 1, eliminating paper tags. In the meantime, other fakes have continued to appear. These tags are pure counterfeits, not registered in the state system but easily recreated given their simple design.
When the state stops issuing paper tags on July 1, the last legitimate temporary paper tags will expire within 60 days, and police won't have to look hard to spot a problem.
"Now it'll be very easy because you won't have to differentiate which is a legitimate paper tag and which one is nefarious. You'll know immediately. If it's paper, it's out," Scesney said.
In July, most car buyers will receive a permanent metal plate directly from the dealer when they purchase a car. The state is also creating several new types of temporary metal tags for dealers if they don't have a regular plate in stock, need a plate for a test drive, or sell a car to an out-of-state buyer.
Law enforcement officials acknowledge that even metal plates aren't fraud-proof.
"Yes, there will be fake metal tags, but the volume of fake metal tags is gonna be so much lower than what we're seeing in paper," Scesney said. "There's no comparison."
Fake metal tags are harder to recreate and sell than paper tags, which can be emailed to a buyer and printed out.
"This is good for cops. This is good for Texans. Crime is gonna come down as a result of this law," Scesney said.
Investigators said sellers duped some people who bought fake paper tags online into believing it was legal to purchase tags online. In some cases, they said unscrupulous car dealers fraudulently used paper tags to sell vehicles that wouldn't qualify for a legitimate plate due to title problems.
For drivers in those situations, police warn vehicle owners to work to register their vehicles legitimately to avoid a ticket.
For residents selling a used car after July 1, the metal tag on the vehicle would stay with the car when it's sold, and paperwork needs to be completed to transfer the plate to the new owner. People with vanity plates would be exempted from the transfer rule. The state legislature is also currently considering a bill that would allow people who are selling their own car to keep their old plates instead, and the seller could then transfer them to another vehicle.
On Tuesday, we'll continue this report and let Texans know what they need to know to protect themselves in a private party sale and what car dealers say about whether they'll be ready to transition to metal tags on day one.
PREVIOUS REPORTS
- June 22, 2023 - It will take Texas 2 years to get rid of paper tags after governor signs law eliminating them
- June 12, 2023 - Gov. Abbott signs law eliminating paper license plates in Texas
- May 24, 2023 - Bill to Eliminate Paper License Plates in Texas Passes Texas Senate
- March 27, 2023 - Texas DMV's New Paper Tag Design Easily Counterfeited, Police Say
- Nov. 17, 2022 - Texas DMV Redesigns Paper License Tags to Include New Security Features
- Nov. 15, 2022 -
- June 1, 2022 - Police Make Bogus Tag Bust Tied to Social Media Ads
- May 18, 2022 - TxDMV Names New Executive Director Amid Paper Tag Crisis
- May 17, 2022 - Vehicle Used in Dallas Salon Shooting Had Paper Tag
- May 12, 2022 - Ads for Fake Tags Persist, Despite Facebook, TxDMV Efforts
- May 4, 2022 - Texas' Paper Tag Problem Compounded by Small Dealers Misusing Them
- May 3, 2022 - Dallas Police Shut Down Accused Fake Paper Tag Dealer
- April 26, 2022 - Texas House Set to Hold Paper Tag Hearings
- April 14, 2022 - Texas DMV Cracks Down on Dealers Selling Temporary Paper Tags
- April 13, 2022 - TxDMV Closes Inspection Loophole That Put Unsafe Cars on Roads
- April 12, 2022 - Dallas Police Go Undercover to Fight Illegal Paper Tags
- April 7, 2022 - Police Warn of Fake Paper Tags Used to Cheat Car Buyers
- April 5, 2022 - Texas Senate Will Investigate Illegal Paper Tag Crimes, Smuggling
- March 9, 2022 - Texas Paper Tag Crime Danger Extends Nationwide
- March 5, 2022 - Texas House Will Hold Hearings on Paper Tag Mess
- Feb. 28, 2022 - License to Smuggle: Drug Cartels and Human Smugglers Use Paper Texas Tags to Evade
- Feb. 15, 2022 - Fort Worth Police Announce Special Operation Targeting Paper Tags
- Feb. 14, 2022 -- Crash Victim's Parents Want More Cops to Police Paper Tag Fraud
- Feb. 13, 2022 - More Funding Need to Fight Criminals Using Bogus Paper Tags: Police
- Feb. 10, 2022 - Police Report Drop in Fraudulent Tags But Warn Crooks Are Adapting
- Feb. 9, 2022 - Texas DMV Shuts Down Six More Dealers Suspected of Selling Paper License Tags
- Feb. 7, 2022 - TxDMV Director Resigns Amidst Paper Tag Mess
- Jan. 27, 2022 - TxDMV Takes Emergency Action to Keep Crooks From Selling Paper Tags
- Jan. 21, 2022 - Dallas Police Operation Targets Fraudulent Paper Tags
- Jan. 17, 2022 - Recording Shows Police Warned TxDMV of Paper Tag Security Flaw Years Ago
- Dec. 16, 2021 - DMV Committee Recommends Fingerprinting Some Dealers to Slow Paper Tag Fraud
- Dec. 14, 2021 - Texas House Transportation Chair Vows to Stop Paper Tag Fraud
- Dec. 6, 2021 - Texas DMV Boss Deflects Blame for Paper Tag Debacle
- Nov. 23, 2021 - Illegal Paper Tags Costing Texas Taxpayers and Toll Roads Millions
- Nov. 10, 2021 - Suspected Paper Tag Peddler Shut Down Tuesday, Reopens Wednesday: Investigators
- Nov. 8, 2021 - How Texas Paper Tags Became a $200M Criminal Enterprise: 온라인카지노사이트 5 Investigates
