Fake license plates, nearly identical to plates issued by the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, are popping up online and causing headaches for some Long Islanders.

News 12 was the first to report about the years of fees and fines a Huntington grandmother faced because people across the country purchased her vanity plate on Amazon.

A month after getting her the help she needed, News 12 has uncovered just how easy it is for someone to purchase one of these fake plates. 

News 12 was the first to report how the tickets poured in almost daily for Beda Koorey, of Huntington. 

The grandmother, who is slowly losing her eyesight, couldn’t miss the thousands of dollars in fines in her mailbox from across the country - and even Canada.

All the tickets were tied to her former Star Trek-themed vanity license plate, NCC 1701, that she surrendered to the New York Department of Motor Vehicles in 2020.

"It is dangerous,” she said. “It's like identity fraud."

News 12 was able to get Koorey’s over $16,000 in tickets from New York City overturned and catch the attention of an attorney who helped disconnect her from the plates. 

But for Koorey, she couldn’t believe it when she found a copy of her vanity plate for sale on Amazon.

"Why register and get custom plates when you can just get them on Amazon, stick them on your car, and go driving,” she said.

Koorey unfortunately is not alone. 

News 12 spoke with a man from Ronkonkoma who asked we just refer to him by his first name Russ. 

Russ says his vehicle is in storage, yet he still got fines from states, including Texas and Massachusetts. They were all tied to a fake copy of his plate.

"Being able to buy them online, you shouldn't be able to,” he said.

News 12 was able to order a fake vanity plate online that looks nearly identical to a real New York state license plate and have it shipped to the Bethpage studio.

A quick search online brings up several different vendors selling plates they refer to as “decorative” or “vanity” plates. 

The plate ordered by News 12 came from a vendor on Amazon. 

The main difference between the plate ordered online and real ones is that license plates with a randomized alphanumeric tag have raised numbers and letters. The letters and numbers on the fake plate are flat. 

In some states like New Jersey, however, the plates issued by the Motor Vehicles Commission have numbers and letters that are flat.

Vanity plates in New York also have flat letters and numbers on them as well.

According to a Long Island attorney, being able to purchase and order one of those plates is illegal.

Koorey’s case caught the attention of Hauppauge-based attorney Kenneth Mollins. 

Mollins says the sale of plates online, nearly identical to ones issued by the DMV, are illegal.

"It's even illegal under the statute to offer them for sale in New York,” he said. 

Mollins believes the fake plates online fall under a New York Vehicle & Traffic law regarding facsimile license plates.

The statute says in part, “No person shall manufacture, sell, or offer for sale a decorative or facsimile license plate of a size, shape, color and design which is identical with the size, shape, color and design of license plates issued by the department.”

Mollins believes people are buying these plates to avoid registering vehicles, getting away with traffic violations, and avoiding tolls.

"Since congestion pricing has started in New York, the amount of purchases of these types of plates by Long Islanders has skyrocketed,” said Mollins. "Nobody can tell it's fake by just looking at it!"

Elizabeth Nevins-Saunders is a clinical law professor at the Hofstra University Maurice A. Deane School of Law. She says the continued manufacture and selling of these plates creates safety concerns for law enforcement trying to track down wrongdoers - and financial issues for tolling entities. 

She says there’s only one person in the state who can take on these entities selling these phony plates.

"It's the Office of the Attorney General [who] is the one who can bring these cases against the people who are selling them,” she said. 

A representative from the Attorney General's Office tells News 12 they are aware of the issue.

Amazon has not responded to News 12’s request for comment.

The NYS DMV has resources for drivers who may be worried that someone copied their license plate. 

There are several search options provided by the DMV here.