Greg Underhill of Clayton, North Carolina, was shocked when he received more than $1,000 in tolls — from states he says he has never been to. Toll agencies in Maryland, New York and New Jersey claim his trailer went through the toll, with toll cameras taking photos of what appeared to be his license plate.
At first, Underhill thought it was a scam because his caravan had not left his property. His wife, Temperance, tried calling the toll agencies to get answers.
“I tried to reach them, got put on hold and could never talk to anyone. One time I was on hold for 27 minutes,” she told reporters.
Underhill then visited the DMV, where staff claimed they had never seen such a problem. The Underhills filed a fraud report with the Johnston County Sheriff's Department, believing someone had duplicated their license plate, and turned the tag over to the DMV to avoid further charges. Despite these efforts, the toll went into collections, bringing the total to almost $1,000.
After being unable to resolve the problem himself, Underhill contacted ABC11 troubleshooter Diane Wilson for help. She noticed an important detail: the license plate in the toll photos showed signs of tampering. The '8' on the plate in the toll booth photos was actually a '9' modified to look like an '8'.
This is a common tactic to create “ghost plates,” especially in states with automatic toll cameras. For the Underhills, this fraud increased rapidly, with tolls soaring in multiple states. Once the bills were collected, their credit was at risk, and the additional costs compounded the financial impact. Even worse, in some states, unpaid tolls can lead to license suspension.
Fortunately for the Underhills, Wilson was able to help solve their case. With evidence of fraud, the toll agencies dismissed the charges and notified police to search for the altered license plate.
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License plate fraud can cause serious financial and legal problems. Fraudsters can duplicate license plates to avoid tolls, evade law enforcement, or commit more serious crimes without detection. If your license plate is duplicated, as in Underhill's case, you could be liable for violations, tolls or fines, which could damage your credit and create legal problems.
