Pennsylvania State Police Seeing Uptick In Fake Inspection Stickers Sold Online: 'Lives Are At Stake'

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Pennsylvania residents are buying fake inspection stickers to save money. Some are doing it to save money while others just want to pass inspection, knowing their cars have issues.

In Pennsylvania, no matter how new or old your car is, you have to get your car inspected every year and if it passes inspection, you'll get a windshield sticker, and in some counties, you'll get an emissions sticker. But some people know their car has mechanical problems and won't pass inspection, so they buy fake stickers online, which puts other drivers on the road in danger.

It's a growing problem for Pennsylvania State Police: people selling fake or stolen vehicle inspection stickers on Facebook, OfferUp, Craigslist, and other online platforms.

"Most of our complaints, we handle between 40 and 50 a year," Corp. Joseph Yingling said. "But I've seen an influx from 2021 versus 2020."

Buying a fake sticker is possession of an altered, forged, or counterfeit document, a misdemeanor.

Selling a fake sticker is trademark counterfeiting, a felony.

"They're sold on the streets for several reasons," Yingling said. "You know, unfortunately, people don't have a lot of income and they're trying to work, provide for their family, which is understandable, and having a vehicle inspected could cost a lot of money."

Cars have to get inspected every year to make sure they're roadworthy.

When they aren't inspected, it poses a danger to the driving public.

"When you have let's just say a 6,000-pound car doing 90 miles an hour on 95, it's gotta be safe," said Tom Flora, service manager for Evan's Gulf. "You don't know whether it's going to stop or not. You don't know whether it's going to collapse. There's people in the car that their lives are at stake."

It also hurts business for state-certified inspection stations like the one at Evan's Gulf on Spring Garden Street in Philly.

"You don't really make money on the stickers themselves," Flora said, "but it's the process of inspecting cars and finding out what they need for safety and it's the sales that come from that."

Craigslist did not respond to a request for comment, but in a statement, OfferUp said, in part, "Fraudulent items of any kind are prohibited on OfferUp. We take these reports seriously and work with law enforcement partners to prevent and respond to any illegal activities."

Facebook says, "We prohibit selling fake documents, which violates our commerce policies. We work continuously to improve our detection efforts. Listings that are reported to us will be reviewed. Those that violate our policies are removed."

One of the challenges in tracking the sellers down is they often use fake names.

If you see people selling fake inspection stickers online, report it to PennDOT's Office of Risk Management or the DMV.

In:
• Headlines
• Philadelphia