Texas temporary tags are being revised to reduce fraud
Three years ago, Texas law enforcement officials said that fake paper tags were a problem. Criminals have used them to attach fake paper tags to cars and to commit other violent crimes. This problem has also affected North Texas.
AUSTIN, TX — The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles announced Thursday major changes in temporary tags in Texas to combat fraud.
Fraudulent dealers were able to access the system and create thousands upon thousands of temporary labels. These temporary tags were distributed all over the country.
DMV claims that they spent months designing paper plates and working closely with law enforcement to improve security features in order to reduce temporary tags production.
Executive Director of TxDMV Daniel Avitia stated that the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles has set a new standard for temporary tag security design with the support of law enforcement partners.
The DMV states that the new tags are more difficult to duplicate and more complex than the old ones.
New Texas temporary tags
- Texas flag watermark — better depiction of expiration dates, vehicle make, year, and dealer name.
- Identification of the type and number of tags that were issued.
- To maximize the readability of primary elements, choose the correct font size and font choice.
- Police can distinguish between active and passive security measures.
- Internal TxDMV computers can only create many pieces of embedded text or data.
A cop in Grand Prarie died because of a fake Texas paper license plate
This week, Grand Prairie officer Brandon Tsai died in a collision while chasing down an impostor temporary plate.
Texas legislators were asked to do more to combat the high number of counterfeit paper plates in Texas, according to Grand Prairie Police Chief Daniel Scesney.
This is a serious problem in the state. Scesney said that violent offenders, car burglars, and car thieves use fictitious tags to hide their identities, and facilitate crime, during Tuesday's update on the passing of the officer.
Texas temporary tags will be revised
According to Texas DMV, there have been several changes made since the 2021 Legislative Session to prevent the improper use of temporary tags.
These measures include limiting the number of tags Texas dealers can make.
Monique Johnston is the new chief of Texas DMV. She informed lawmakers in April about the decline in production of temporary tags but also acknowledged that more work was needed.
Beginning Dec. 9, 2022, licensed dealers will issue the new plates.
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