ST. LOUIS - Fake license plates–bought online are being used by drivers looking for new ways to hide from police.

The fake tags are often mistaken for legit plates and are being sold online, making them easy to access.

FOX 2 noticed a plate that says “QUIET” – mounted to a motorcycle. Then we spotted another plate on a Ford passenger car that also said “QUIET” – from Texas. 

Police told FOX 2 those plates were not legal because a real plate that says “QUIET” is registered to a Nissan sportscar.

We found the “QUIET” plate for sale on the website Etsy. Amazon also sells replica plates, from every state.

“You’re definitely deceiving your fellow drivers,” said North County Police Cooperative Sgt. Ben Santoyo. “It’s not if we find them on a regular basis, it’s how often we find them on a regular basis.”

Santoyo’s department recently handled the case of a shot up Dodge Charger, which also had what he called a “fake plate.”

“There is a violent crime nexus here,” Santoyo said. “You’re also not properly insured and not properly licensed.”

That could contribute to Missouri’s already troubled record of uninsured drivers. A 2023 Insurance Information Institute study found Missouri is the sixth worst in the U.S. with 20.7% of motorists uninsured.

We caught up with the driver of that ford with the Texas “QUIET” plate. We’re protecting her identity, as she’s not charged with a crime. FOX 2 asked the driver about her license plate.

The driver did not answer so we followed up, saying “It looks like something you got off of Etsy?”

“No,” the driver responded, adding, “You have to get away from me, though.”

She claimed it’s a legal plate and did not stop to talk about it.

“I’ll (have) my boyfriend come out if y’all don’t get away from me,” she said as she walked away.

“These plates look real and they’re deceptive,” attorney Kenneth Mollins said.

Mollins is a New York attorney, who had a 75-year-old client inundated with tickets because people were buying fake versions of her plate.

“Even the Royal Canadian Mounted Police contacted her and wanted her to come to Canada to be questioned on why a crime was being committed by one of those vehicles,” Mollins said.

Her plate said, NCC-1701. It was a novelty plate, because that’s the ID number for the original Starship Enterprise.

The victim, Beda Korrey, told FOX 2 by phone that it was “four years of constant hell,” and that she got “one to two tickets a week.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James banned the online sale of plates in her state.

In the Midwest, police will pull drivers over if their plate does not match the car to which it’s registered.

”You could be subject to tow and that car could be going to car jail,” Santoyo said.

Etsy did not respond to FOX 2’s request for comment. 

Amazon, however, did. Their statement reads:

“We require all products offered in our store to comply with applicable laws and regulations. We continuously monitor our store, and if we discover a product was undetected by our automated checks, we address the issue immediately.”