So I went to renew my car (yes, electric of course) and googled dmv renewal. I picked a site that I thought was the official site. It looked official but was actually run by a company called etags. When i got to the checkout there was an additional "online service fee" of $30 and a BPA fee of $5. I thought "I can mail it in for 50 cents, forget it". Then I thought "maybe a scam" . I went to www.dmv.ca.gov directly and did an e-check for no fee at all.
I went back to the original site and it claims "licensed by the dmv"; who knows if it's true. but it is a scam. The real dmv site was faster, easier and of course cheaper. Don't be fooled.