Imagine receiving a ticket for illegal parking in Toronto even though you live in Ottawa, 450 km away, or receiving a bill from the administration of the A-407 even if you have never used this highway in Toronto in TOLL . According to the CBC, it's a phenomenon that's growing.
Driver Omar Ahmad received four unfair invoices from the A-407 administration before his brother discovered the problem last month.
Someone was selling copies of their personalized 3MAR license plate on Facebook Marketplace for $26.
It really looked like my plaque. As if someone took a photo of it and put it up for sale.
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Ontario man Omar Ahmad discovered someone was selling copies of his license plate on Facebook Marketplace.
Photo: CBC/Omar Ahmad
Last year, the A-407 Administration investigated an average of more than 500 toll cases per month related to lost, stolen or copied license plates. That is twice as many cases as in 2019.
Beautiful 450 km from home
Ottawa resident Connie Jensen says she has received four parking tickets in Toronto since May 2022, despite not setting foot in the Queen City during that period.
At first she thought the parking attendant had written down the license plate incorrectly, but after the third and fourth fines, she began to suspect something was wrong.
I think someone has my license plate. Fines range from $30 to $150. So these people park everywhere.
The City of Toronto canceled the first two tickets. Ms. Jensen is now trying to destroy the last two.
Well-made plates, say the police
In Ontario, it is legal to order a reproduction of your license plate for personal use, but using it on the road is illegal.
Some copies are made of plastic, but others are metal and of good quality, says Constable Kerry Schmidt of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).
Some plates are very well made. A police officer wouldn't notice it on the street.
Christina Basil, spokeswoman for A-407, says fraudsters have perfected their art so much that they sometimes attach the cloned license plate to a vehicle of the same model and color as the car with the copied license plate, making it difficult to detect illegal routes .
What to do?
If a motorist discovers their license plate has been cloned, the OPP and the Department of Transportation recommend notifying police and then contacting a ServiceOntario office to obtain a new license plate.
However, it is the driver's responsibility to pay $59 for a new license plate.
There's nothing else to do, Agent Schmidt admits.
Ms. Jensen thinks this is unfair. The burden shouldn't fall on the victim's back, she says.
The province should ban duplicate license plates and increase fines for violations, says Daniel Tsai, a law professor at Metropolitan and Toronto universities.
Currently, a person driving with a fake license plate in Ontario faces a $140 fine.
Based on information from Nicole Brockbank of CBC News