Ontario driver warns about licence plate cloning fraud

An Ontario lady was astonished to discover out her licence plate was duplicated by yet another driver right after a number of Freeway 407 bills landed in her mailbox.

“When I appeared up all those dates, it was the Easter weekend and I wasn’t even in the town,” Obioma Dike told CTV News Toronto.

Obioma Dike gained a few Highway 407 costs just after her licence plate was fraudulently duplicated. The monthly bill indicated that Dike took Highway 407 three occasions – on April 8, 9 and 28 – for a complete cost of just in excess of $60.

She requested for camera evidence of her auto travelling on the provincial-owned highway that spans from Burlington to Pickering, and acquired photographs of what appeared to be her licence plate secured to a Nissan like her personal.

“But it’s not my car,” she mentioned.

A close look at the tolled motor vehicle when compared to Dike’s shows dissimilarities in the details – just one vehicle has a dealership plate, is a SV model and has a flared body all over the radiator grille, whilst the other has none of these features.

“This seems to be a situation of fraud where by the person’s licence plate amount was duplicated,” Christina Basil, a spokesperson for Freeway 407, advised CTV News Toronto.

“Unfortunately, fraudulently duplicated plates do happen. 407 ETR will always reverse prices for clients if we can ensure the criminal misuse of their licence plate.”

The vehicle tolled on Freeway 407 (left) as opposed to Obioma Dike’s vehicle (ideal). In scenarios like this, Basil said shoppers need to report their licence plate as shed or stolen to the police and return the plates to the Ministry of Transportation ideal away. The ministry additional that they stimulate motorists to launch official inquiries when these predicaments crop up.

Ontario Provincial Law enforcement Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said the fraudster seems to have deliberately preferred a motor vehicle that almost identically matched the one with the first licence plate. 

“The suspect car was in truth attempting to impersonate the victim’s vehicle,” he explained. “That would unquestionably result in me pause.” 

Schmidt mentioned he doesn’t know what the intentions of the driver were being in this scenario, but if they have been committing a criminal offense, the licence plate replicate could be applied as a getaway car.

“Obviously this is a issue for every person,” he claimed.

When Dike obtained a new licence plate and is looking for a refund on her invoice, she’s nonetheless still left pondering, “if someone were to be utilizing my plate quantity, what else could they be performing with my identification?”