Why hide your license plate?

[esjones]

I've noticed that many members here who post pictures of their Vibe will obscure the license plate. Of course, unless a vanity plate is the subject of the post!Question is, why? Is there a potential problem I don't realize, like identity theft or stalkers? You show your Vibe and plate to thousands every day you drive... what's the big deal about showing it here? Inquiring minds want to know!

[KSNeptune]

The basic tendancy to hide info like license plate number, real name, etc., comes from a natural (perhaps subconscious) desire to protect ourselves from privacy invasion and identity theft, and the "I know where you live now!" fear. I have an ex-brother in law that knowing only your license plate number could call up your name, address, SS#, police or court records, birth date, and several other more boring details about you. Yes, he was a police officer, but he was also an abuser, liar, thief, and all-around untrustworthy guy. So tell me, do YOU want to publicly post your license plate number now?KSNeptune

[meathead333]

if anyone cares, mine is WA NSF 734

[Big_Red]

As a former Civic owner who has had stuff stolen from it, I will say this, unless by mistake, I will never post a pic of my car with the license plate on it. This warning is especially true for those who have customized their ride. IT doesn't take much effort to find out where you live, and steal parts or all of your ride. I have friends who have learned this the hard way.

[Flip-Side]

quote:if anyone cares, mine is WA NSF 734 With just that information, I was able to find the following information on the internet. My means are a secret, and takes only the sharpest and brightest of people to accomplish. meathead is located in Fort Lewis WA USA.meathead is 24 years of age.Full Name: The Other White Meat.Email: meathead@msn.com.Yahoo Instant Messenger ID: meatski@yahoo.com.Bet you're shakin in your cheese now. Yup...sharpest and brightest.

[meathead333]

oh crap! you got me.

[CaCathy13]

Um....anyone can get your license plate number because....you're driving around with it showing!!! If someone wants that info, they can copy it down from passing your car on the street. Sure, posting it here opens it up to a broader meadium....but if you drive the Vibe across state lines or to your grammas house 4 hours away you're doing the same thing. And someone online from California is gonna try and steal my Vibe in Illinois because I had a pic with my plate number posted?! Bah, it's just a license plate!

[slbpsi63]

Keeping the picture posted in one area for an infinite period of time is different than driving past someone that has bad intentions. I see your point, but posting a pic is still different than driving past someone.

[Frosty]

Being the victim of a stalker once is too many times.Now that I am an old dude I don't expect trouble, but who needs it, so I obscure my plate. If I could legally obscure it on the road I would.

[meathead333]

itd be cool to have a hot chick stalk me

[kaybeejay]

You are more likely to (removed) someone off here on the internet, and create a few enemies.Someone could pretty easily research your info if they had a serious problem with you, and they could (in theory) hunt you down. I doubt its very likely, but I suppose its possible.Call me paranoid, but I prefer to block out my plate numbers when possible.

[esjones]

quote:Call me paranoid, but I prefer to block out my plate numbers when possible.As they say... "Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're NOT out to get ya!"

[Big_Red]

quote:if anyone cares, mine is WA NSF 734 WA = WashingtonNSF = Non Sufficient Funds734 = you have had 734 NSF's.kiddin'

[meathead333]

and i thought i was bored....

[macrosonic]

There's a lot of personal information about you that's available to anyone that wants to find it. But that doesn't mean you should make it easier for them.Think about your phone number. If you don't pay to have it unlisted, it's in the phone book for everyone to see. Anyone on the planet with access to a library or the internet can look up your phone number. But would you Post it online? I hope not. For one, I can't look up your phone number until I know your name and city. So even though it's public information, I couldn't get it without first finding out other info about you. But if you start to give out some of that info, it makes it easier for me to find out more and more personal data about you. It's not that each individual piece of info is necessarily that important, but that each one can lead to another, until I know much more about you than you would want me to. Another thing different about posting online compared with driving down the road is that you have to assume anything you put online will be stored somewhere FOREVER. Once it's out there, it's there for good even if you decide to delete it, and you no longer have control over that info. Somewhere someone had downloaded it to their harddrive, or some server has permanently backed it up to a tape (which most servers do automatically on a regular basis, nightly or weekly), and you have no clue who is looking at it. If your profile is correct, then the facts that your name is Earl S Jones from Ohio who drives a Neptune Vibe and works in Sales and Marketing for Taricon Technologies Inc. is already out there floating thru cyberspace for all eternity (insert corny sci-fi music here). Now if you post your license plate that's a whole lot more info about you that someone can piece together if they were sleazy enough. (of course, there would not be any sleazy creepy people in the Vibe Lounge, but it's just an example )So long story short, in general keep personal information to yourself as much as possible when online.And yes, all the other voices in my head are in complete agreement

[canadavibegt]

I would agree that placing your plate number on an open forum in most cases would not be all that bad. some of themembers have made valid points of why not to. I live in Canada and like meathead33 am a Police Officer (RCMP). I like many others have access to alot of information about people. A licence plate allows me or a MVB (motor vehicle branch) employee to access some information. But with that information additional details about you can be located. There are a number of P.I firms that will for a small fee locate this type of information and provide it to anyone who wants it.... Identy theft is a growing problem especialy with the proliferation of computers etc. Like some one else said why make it easier.

[mu_ohio]

The main reason why I keep that information blacked out in my photos is privacy on the net. Yes, anyone can see my plate when driving, but they do not know what I've done to my car, what stereo it has, what other cars I drive, what computers and electronics I own and so on. If someone truely wanted to steal everything I own, I'm not going to give them my license plate number online. The net has really opened the world up to a lot of shaddy people and many of them spend hours and hours a day looking for victims.Also, does anyone here truely let anyone catch up on their (removed) to see their plates? LOL