Colorado State Patrol cites increase in citations to drivers using fake temporary vehicle tags

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- State troopers say that they are seeing more drivers using fake temporary vehicle tags that they buy from a variety of online sites.

Troopers also say that they're writing more tickets for those violations.

According to the Colorado State Patrol, troopers issued more than 1,000 citations for fake tags last year -- with more than a fifth of them along Interstate 25.

Temporary tags are what people get from auto dealers or the Department of Motor Vehicles when they buy a vehicle, and the tags are used until permanent metal plates arrive.

"The only place where you can buy genuine temp tags is either from a dealership or the DMV," said Trooper Jeanne Rahe. "You can't purchase them online from any other site. So, if you're getting them from there, they're not real. When we run the plate, it comes back as no record. So then, we stop the car and find out why there's no record."

Ray said that the motivation for people to buy fake tags online, is that the sellers offer them for far less than what a legal tag would cost.

"The catch is many people have no idea that those tags are fake and not real," she said. "We've seen this happen for as long as the seven years I've been a trooper. And it's a nationwide problem, not just a local problem. On the back of some of these plates, it says that they're a prop. We have to talk with those drivers to find out whether they're aware of that, or not."

Rahe said that troopers can spot the fake plates because they're obvious, or when making a routine traffic stop; a violation requires a court appearance with a conviction carrying a maximum fine of $1,000 and a jail term of up to a year.

"The maximum fines are usually for repeat offenders," she explained. "In that case, it becomes more of a fraud and a judge decides what the punishment is. But there's discretion with that."

Rahe adds that legal Colorado temporary tags have a green hologram with the State of Colorado seal, as one of several safety features.