ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Barbara Madison was one of 25,000 drivers caught by the New York State Department of Transportation’s automated speed radar on I-490 in downtown Rochester. When she received the ticket in the mail, she had no idea this was happening.

“I just decided I couldn’t fight it, didn’t want to fight it, I was probably guilty,” Madison said.

Madison decided to pay the $50 fine for going 11 miles over the 40 mph speed limit and wrote a check. The DOT’s website instructs to write “NYS Work Zone Speed Enforcement Program” on the check, but Madison wrote “NYS work zone speed” due to limited space.

“I didn’t put in the word enforcement because I didn’t have enough room,” Madison explained.

Berkeley Brean, News10NBC: “But it’s close enough.”

Barbara Madison: “It’s close enough to let me know that’s what the check is for.”

Madison mailed the check to the state’s third-party vendor in Philadelphia. It got a stamp endorsement, but when she looked at the check after it was cashed, her payable line was changed to a series of numbers.

“Somebody had altered the payee,” Madison said. “You can’t alter a check.”

News10NBC Chief Investigative Reporter Berkeley Brean has done a series on these tickets, investigating the system that allows people to pay online or over the phone with a surcharge. Madison took the mail option and said her check came back changed.

Berkeley Brean: “When the ticket arrived in the mail what did you think?”

Barbara Madison: “I had no idea they were doing this.”

The DOT radar SUV ticketed 25,000 drivers in 26 days from September to early November while parked on I-490 downtown.

If you paid one of these DOT speeding tickets by check, check your account to see what it looks like. Late last week, the state DOT told News10NBC:

“NYSDOT is looking into this matter with our payment processing vendor.”

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