license plates

[Diegoboy]

I am trying to help my brother-in-law find a reliable beater (first time driver) car for his wife. I notice that on CL, most people block, blur, or otherwise hide their license plates. WHY? They don't hide them while driving or parked. Can someone enlighten me please?

[Rumdog]

Ignorant paranoia. They don't seem to understand that everyone who sees the car in real life can see the plate

[Diegoboy]

Thank you Rumdog. I just couldn't find any logic behind it and thought I was missing something.

[NativePaul]

It is to prevent vehicle identity theft, if you see a car the same as yours on the net you can make a plate the same, fit it to your car and go around, doing drivebys, not paying for petrol, speeding, parking anywhere you like, and being generally criminal. Safe in the knowledge that the cops will be on the doorstep of the poor patsy you found on CL, and not your doorstep when you get home.


edited due to the above reply, while the criminal could of course cruise the streets looking for a car the same as theirs it is much quicker, easier and cheaper to do a google image search instead, for instance I have never seen the same model of car I have in the same colour in the flesh, yet i could find dozens within a minute on the web. It is much safer too as if you get a plate from a car while driving around and that person has an alibi for any of the offences the police may well twig that it has had its identity cloned and start looking for the same car in that locality leading them to the criminal, much better no steal an identity from hundreds of miles away.

[m4a1usr]

It is to prevent vehicle identity theft, if you see a car the same as yours on the net you can make a plate the same, fit it to your car and go around, doing drivebys, not paying for petrol, speeding, parking anywhere you like, and being generally criminal. Safe in the knowledge that the cops will be on the doorstep of the poor patsy you found on CL, and not your doorstep when you get home.

Paul is 100% spot on. And its not just about them using your plate number to commit acts based around your vehicle license number. Theres free ware on the web that can link your vehicle license to your registered home address. Depending on what you drive the thieves now can come by your home and loot your residence. The reason is obvious why folks are proactive about protecting their identity. Its about using common sense. Not about paranoia. Home invasions have been big news here in the great Northwest. Probably the same all over America.

John

[Rumdog]

Its on your car....
Not in your wallet, or hidden

[m4a1usr]

Its on your car....
Not in your wallet, or hidden

I'm guessing you have never held a security clearance? Never had any security training? Never have been a victim of identity theft? Thats probably why you dont see the linkages. One leads to the other. In case your not aware, small pieces of information about you out on the internet are all that is required to gather enough about you to be used against you. Just cause you dont see it as a threat doesnt make it some abnormal behavior for others.

John

[drwayne]

In Au, there's an iPhone app to check vehicle reg status & owner details... .. designed for buyers to check ownership&vehicle financial status.. , but it's used for much more .......

Wow, she looks cute..wonder what area does she live in . ?
:smirk:

W

[Diegoboy]

My point is there is no difference between seeing the car on the road vs. seeing a picture of it on the web.

[egneg]

There are a lot of scammers and crooks on CL - best to be safe than sorry. If you see ads that seem to good to be true they are scams. I have documented a few for my wife to use in her classes so she can teach her students about such things.

[Diegoboy]

It still doesn't explain the difference between seeing plates in a picture and seeing the plates in person. However, I just came up with a theory on this.

During TV shows like mythbusters, when the celebrities bring their cars in front of the camera, it's plates are blurred out. This is to prevent fans from researching their plates and finding out their home address. Everyday people see this when they watch TV, so assume it's a good idea for them.

...but who wants to get the autograph of some joe selling a car on CL?

[egneg]

Danny if they are famous folks know where they live. You are using pretzel logic to justify your position. Folks do this to weed out folks that are more interested in making a buck than buying a car.

[egneg]

Pretzel logic example ... If you put cream in your coffee it will counteract the caffeine as everyone knows that warm milk makes you sleepy.

[Diegoboy]

I have absolutely no position on this whatsoever. I just want to know the logical (pretzel or otherwise) reason why people do this. If I wanted someones plates from CL, I'd just contact the seller and go see the car in person.

[Rumdog]

Or drive down the road and see hundreds of license plates whenever you want. There is nothing private about a license plate.