‘Ghost Cars’ Keep Sending Innocent Drivers Toll Violations
You check your mailbox, expecting a normal stack of junk postcards and marketing materials. Instead, there’s a toll notice from New Jersey for a car you’ve never driven. And while you may think it’s a scam, it’s actually a real bill from an official state Department of Transportation.
This is what some drivers in Colorado are facing thanks to what authorities call “ghost cars.”
The Weld County Sheriff’s Office says valid license plate numbers are getting plastered on cars from out of state
When those cars pass through toll lanes, the charges get sent to the owner of the original plate.
Denver7 says one resident discovered bills from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. But their car hadn’t ever left Colorado. In that case, the tag involved was a hard temporary plate, not a stolen one.
This isn’t a Colorado-only problem
New York recently saw a similar scam, with one driver hit with more than $600 in tolls that ended up in collections.
How exactly these plates are being copied is still a mystery. Authorities say there’s no widespread pattern yet, but they want the public to know it can happen.
If you get hit with an undeserved toll fee…
Authorities say you should file a report with local police and notify your DMV.
Those documents become the evidence you need to dispute the charges with the tolling authority. Without them, clearing up a false toll can get tricky fast.
The E-470 Public Highway Authority, which runs many of Colorado’s toll roads, says it reviews every toll plate image carefully
Their system checks that the plate is formatted correctly for its state and flags any that don’t meet criteria.
When a driver contests a toll, staff review the image, vehicle details, and DMV data.
If something doesn’t add up, the case gets escalated and the charges can be removed. Confirmed cloned plates are tracked internally for future reference.
Keep an eye out for undue toll notices, verify any charges that don’t make sense, and gather documentation quickly. Your car might be staying put in town, but someone else could be taking it on a “ghost” road trip, racking up a bill no one wants to foot.
