A speed camera is located out in front of Wootton High School, providing a convenient location for generating the false tickets. Instead of purchasing license plates, students have ready access to laser printers that can create duplicate license plates using glossy paper using readily available fonts. For example, the state name of "Maryland" appears on plates in a font similar to Garamond Number 5 Swash Italic. Once the camera flashes, the driver can quickly pull over and remove the fake paper plate. The victim will receive a $40 ticket in the mail weeks later. According to the Sentinel, students at Richard Montgomery High School have also participated, although Montgomery County officials deny having seen any evidence of faked speed camera tickets.As an outsider this is pretty amusing, and shows how easily such systems can be fooled. But as someone getting the ticket without having been speeding, it sucks. I'd imagine it'd generally be pretty easy for cops to compare the photo the speed camera took to the actual vehicle (and the system might even photograph the driver...they do that around Chicago so they can prove liability and you can't say someone else was driving your vehicle) and prove the person is innocent (and maybe even catch the actual person that was speeding). But it's a hassle for the innocent person and the cops, and if it happens enough they may be forced to make the system smarter or do away with it, especially if it's costing them a significant amount of money to resolve those cases.
With more and more speeding cameras and red light cameras being deployed everywhere, it'd be unsurprising to see this kind of thing increasing.
