For $30 a year, Texas motorists with a social conscience -- or simply a desire to decorate their vehicles with adorable critters -- can do away with the state’s plain black-and-white plates.

There's no doubt you've noticed the increasing number of temporary paper license plates on the roadways these days. Law enforcement officers say the plates are contributing to unsolved violent crimes and costing law abiding citizens money. KPRC 2 investigator Amy Davis has learned the people fraudulently selling the plates are taking advantage of lax oversight by the Department of Motor Vehicles.