RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina man said a scammer obtained a copy of his custom license plate, causing him to receive toll bills from Elizabeth River Tunnels in Virginia that total close to $500.
Ronnie Dickerson said he hasn’t been to Virginia in two years, WTVD-TV reported Thursday. At first, he thought the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles had given someone else his custom plate. But, the NCDMV confirmed it had not given anyone else the personalized tag.
Virginia transportation officials then sent Dickerson an image of the vehicle that had gone through toll routes, such as the Downtown Tunnel from Norfolk to Portsmouth and the South Norfolk Jordan Bridge from Chesapeake to Portsmouth, with his license plate information. The vehicle was not Dickerson’s.
He later learned that people can go online and buy fake custom plates.
“I can choose any tag, any state, put anybody’s number in it I know, or want to, and they’ll ship that tag to me,” Dickerson said. “It’s scary.”
Dickerson was able to prove to Virginia officials that the vehicle wasn’t his and the toll fees were waived.
The NCDMV said the best option to stop the scam was to turn in the personalized tag and get a generic license plate number. Dickerson told the television station he really doesn’t want to do that.