The Registry of Motor Vehicles and state’s high prosecutor are warning of scams and fraudulent affords focusing on residents with out lawful proof of presence who will quickly be eligible for a driver’s license.
A wide range of “bad actors” could attempt to benefit from individuals as a brand new legislation takes impact subsequent month that enables individuals with out authorized immigration standing to acquire a regular Massachusetts driver’s license, Registrar of Motor Vehicles Colleen Ogilvie stated.
“This could be in the form of charging people for access to an appointment. This could be in the form of providing documents to them,” Ogilvie stated Wednesday afternoon. “We want to be clear and let everybody know, making an appointment at the [RMV] is free. It does not cost anything to make an appointment. Getting any of our documents, other than a driver’s manual, are also free.”
The complete price to acquire a driver’s license is $115 as long as you go the allow and highway check on the primary strive. Each time an individual fails a allow check, they should pay one other $30. And in the event that they fail a highway check, it prices $35 to retake it.
Residents making use of beneath the legislation could come throughout unofficial third-party web sites or “mimic sites” that publicize comparable companies however don’t have any affiliation with the RMV, stated Attorney General Andrea Campbell.
A state-maintained web site has all of the official data on the brand new legislation, together with how you can apply for a license.
Campbell stated her workplace plans to make sure residents most weak to fraud have the data and safety “they deserve.”
“This [law] is critical to allowing Massachusetts families the ability to drive safely to and from work, school, a doctor’s visit, and other essential appointments with a driver’s license ensuring the safety of all of us,” Campbell stated.
Ogilvie stated social media posts shared in some communities have promoted fraudulent charges for service middle appointments on the Registry of Motor Vehicles.
Some scams have charged individuals over $500 for an RMV appointment, stated Lenita Reason, govt director of the Brazilian Workers Center, one of many primary advocacy teams behind the driving force’s license legislation.
“People are offering to help people get in front of the line,” Reason stated, including that different scams provided to schedule an appointment earlier than the July 1 begin date of the legislation. “That’s why we have been telling the community to make sure that they go to the RMV website, that they get in touch with community organizations .. to make sure that they’re not going to be taken advantage of.”
The Registry of Motor Vehicles needed to rapidly put together within the background over the previous 12 months after the Legislature overturned a veto of the legislation from former Gov. Charlie Baker and advocates defeated a Republican-led poll marketing campaign to scrap the measure.
Ogilvie beforehand advised the Herald the RMV is within the strategy of hiring greater than 200 staff — from entrance line service middle staff to highway testers — in an effort to have sufficient employees to maintain up with demand beneath the brand new legislation.
The RMV expects 280,000 individuals to use for a license inside the first 4 years of the legislation, with the largest demand within the first six months. And the Healey administration put aside $28 million in state funds to pay for the implementation of the driving force’s license legislation.
Applicants might want to show who they’re to acquire a license by displaying two paperwork that validate their identification and beginning date. One of these paperwork generally is a legitimate unexpired international passport or a legitimate unexpired consular identification card.
Advocates who pushed lawmakers to approve of the brand new legislation stated it’s going to enhance highway security and permit all drivers to be insured.
“We waited 20 years to get this done and we finally did it,” stated Chrystel Murrieta Ruiz, a political coordinator at 32BJ SEIU.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”