500 Cases of Forced Tolls Each month, Highway 407 ETR, the company that maintains and operates Highway 407, investigates 500 cases of forced tolls imposed by the system on lost, stolen or duplicate plates.

For example, there is a whole network that offers for sale, as new, unused, unusual plates, made to order for the customer, which are immediately delivered to the buyer.

"These plates do not attract the attention of the police until the driver is stopped for some reason," said Sergeant

Kerry Smith of the Ontario Provincial Police, OPP.

“The scammers are becoming more and more creative, and we are seeing cloned plates being used on models of vehicles that are identical to the original, right down to the paint job,” said Christina Basile, a spokeswoman for Highway 407 ETR. But even police admit that there is no way to combat this phenomenon.

Under Ontario law, buying, selling and owning new plates is legal, and if the plate is found to be unregistered, the owner will only have to pay a $140 fine.

Anastasia Chupina