Crime Involving Fake Paper Tags Skyrocketing In Houston: Officials

HOUSTON — The skyrocketing use of fake paper car tags is costing Harris County millions of dollars and is a financial and safety problem that requires a statewide solution, officials said in announcing a recent study of the issue.

The numbers suggest that the use of fraudulent car tags in criminal activities has exploded in recent years, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and Commissioner Adrian Garcia announced at a news conference Tuesday. The number of known "police incidents" involving fake tags in the county has increased 306 percent from 2016 (1,705) to 2021 (6,920), Hidalgo said.

The tags accounted for an estimated $80 million in lost revenue for Harris County through toll road revenue as well as title and registration renewal fees, according to the report.

"Dollars that could have been used for vital county programs like public health and public safety," Hidalgo said.

Hidalgo called for statewide reform and the closing of temporary tag loopholes, referencing the ease with which people can register as a car dealer and gain access to the Department of Motor Vehicles' temporary tag portal.

Texas lawmakers passed House Bill 3927 last year to help limit the abuse of temporary paper tags. Under the law, the DMV can impose a limit on how many paper tags a dealer can receive based on sales data and expected need. Any dealer the department finds to be fraudulently obtaining temporary paper tags can be denied access to the database.

Harris County law enforcement agencies have been cracking down on fake paper tags as part of a program implemented last year, and the county will look into implementing suggestions laid out in the report, Hidalgo said. Among those suggestions is increasing coordination between toll road authorities and constables.

"We're going to do everything we can locally, ... but a local solution is not enough," Hidalgo said. "We need statewide support over and above what has already been done to solve this statewide problem."