That isn't how it works anymore, as far as I know (it used to). The dealerships now can print paper license plates with numbers on them.
replyYup, I recently bought a car and you get temporary numbers that are associated with the dealer (who knows who you are and what car you have) until your actual plate with real numbers and registration comes from the DMV.
replyYou can tell when it isn't a normal person buying a new car when it is your neighbor's car you see for multiple years with those "temporary" tags. I catch a lot of out of date registration too. Usually those cars are parked off street but sometimes not. I usually see about two dozen on my walks. Easy to tell at a glance when you recognize what color tag is now very stale.
replySometimes, yes, but some groups of people just run with temporary tags for a very long time and roll the dice.
replyThere are groups on Facebook Marketplace selling fakes. They used to have those Texas dealer plates but I believe the Texas authorities finally stopped procrastinating on doing something about that.
replyIt used to be easy to search for terms like “tires” and find what were clearly counterfeiting rings.