Exclusive | NYC drivers devise clever ways to conceal license plate numbers as congestion toll takes effect

Some Big Apple motorists were recently spotted with license plates subtly obscured using ultra low-tech methods — which could potentially be used to evade New York’s wildly unpopular congestion toll that just went into effect.The Post spotted a variety of these sneaky, DIY tactics in action — often deployed on newer or high-end vehicles — reminiscent of the ongoing “ghost plates” problem which costs the city hundreds of millions each year.While it’s not known whether the observed trickery is a direct result of the new $9 toll being imposed when entering Midtown Manhattan, many of the altered plates were sighted near the perimeters of the congestion zone on Sunday, when the fee went into effect.The most basic method involved covering up or modifying a single digit on a license plate.This was often done by scratching out a letter or number, like a car seen with an L painted over in white in an apparent attempt to blend it in with the background color of the current New York plates.Another vehicle spotted near the toll zone had a letter E and a zero partially concealed with blobs of what appeared to be gray paint.The subtlety of this method makes it difficult for cops to notice anything is amiss while at the same time rendering the plate unreadable to cameras. The MTA’s gantry-mounted toll readers attempting to spy a license plate modified in such a way would likely misread it and be unable to charge the driver’s account.A handful of similarly altered plates were seen by The Post around the area of Lexington Avenue and East 61st Street in Manhattan not far from the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, as well as near Canal Street.Others were seen with a prominent bend or white streak of paint spanning the width of the plate and passing directly through all of the letters and numbers, which could alter its appearance just enough to flummox a toll camera without drawing the attention of law enforcement.Some drivers — perhaps borrowing a trick from their...