Just curious as to what the reasoning is for people photoshopping out their license plate number when posting pics of their car on the web?

I see this all the time, and I don't understand what the concern is?

I mean, we drive out in public all the time, where everyone is free to see our license plate, right? What's the difference?

:confused:

Because from a plate, a bad person can get your address.

Just like they can from seeing you on the street, correct?

And, you can't just get someones address from the DMV by giving them a license plate number, can you? Maybe I am wrong here? I mean, I am sure that an investigator or police can obviously get the address from the DMV, but can the general public?

they migth want to hide any mods from the prying eyes at mazda. i dont have that luxury as they know who i am anyway.

they migth want to hide any mods from the prying eyes at mazda. i dont have that luxury as they know who i am anyway.

thats what i do, cant really deny its you posting when you have pics of your car and you with the licence plate visible...

Well, the vast majority of pics that I see posted on this site have the license plate number edited out despite the fact the car is bone stock.

I never saw the point in hiding your license plate either. I just leave it when I post pics. What is anyone gonna do, write me a ticket? LOL

Here in Oregon there is an automated DMV set up called "DAVE" that will tell us name, address, vin #, Lender INFO and title #. It is used to check to see whos name appears on the title of the vehicle and whos financing it. to get a persons phone # from it all you have to do is a search in the phone book or 411 connect. It is a account and password protected program.

When you're on the street it's hard for someone to target you.. say I piss raz off here, and he looks like his avatar.. if I post a pic with my license plate he can get my number and use it somehow.. otherwise he'd have to be patient and wait till DT next year or come drive around Tampa till he sees me...


Random people off the street usually won't be malicious to you.

Just curious as to what the reasoning is for people photoshopping out their license plate number when posting pics of their car on the web?For the same reason why most don't post under their real name, or have their home phone number and address in their sig.

Just curious as to what the reasoning is for people photoshopping out their license plate number when posting pics of their car on the web?

I see this all the time, and I don't understand what the concern is?

I mean, we drive out in public all the time, where everyone is free to see our license plate, right? What's the difference?

:confused:
when i took pic of my car or some ppl took pic of my car (just like on ss-7) I took my license plat off. y?! because ... u would never want ur license show on some "unknow" dude's pic. that's mean stranger. and the other reason is... license plate is not looking good. at least i think so. and my license number.. is not cool at all.. it don't like i saw a dude's license(yellow 8) <rev 9k>... that's the license for showing. not mine.

Rob, I've totally wondered the same thing. It's an internet-wide phenomenon, not just this site.

It's a bit harder to get to the car owner through a license plate than it is if you have their address or their phone number. Name alone is near impossible. You'd need a birth date...unless your name is Jason Hamilton. The Encyclopedia Brittanica says there's only one Jason Hamilton, and he lives in Tampa, Florida. The rest of us are safe.

Even if you go with the Oregon "DAVE" thing, how many people live in Oregon? Three? Four? Like half of them are named DAVE! :)

When I get my car on Friday or Saturday, the pics I post won't have the license number blurred. I'll be the test case for the rest of the internet.

Just like they can from seeing you on the street, correct?

And, you can't just get someones address from the DMV by giving them a license plate number, can you? Maybe I am wrong here? I mean, I am sure that an investigator or police can obviously get the address from the DMV, but can the general public?

You would be surprised of how easy it is to obtain information based on the slightest bit of information known about someone. There are several online services online that, for a fee, will let you know what size of underwear I usually buy ;)

Even if you go with the Oregon "DAVE" thing, how many people live in Oregon? Three? Four? Like half of them are named DAVE! :)



The DAVE program is nationwide just under different titles most likley. It is used by most car dealerships, lending institutions and many more i a sure mr. population expert. :)

You'd need a birth date...unless your name is Jason Hamilton. The Encyclopedia Brittanica says there's only one Jason Hamilton, and he lives in Tampa, Florida. The rest of us are safe. Oh man, when I was living just north of Orlando, there was actually another Jason Hamilton living in the area who was a convicted rapist! Someone had asked my wife if she knew a Jason Hamilton ... you can imagine the conversation.

I agree Rob it's funny - drive around among people who are obviously "local" and could get you or your car with the license visible. But on the web, where you're thousands of miles away... ya hide... funny.

By the way, my license plate is Georgia: 800 TM... and my name is Mark Speece. Please don't "get me". ;)

Oh man, when I was living just north of Orlando, there was actually another Jason Hamilton living in the area who was a convicted rapist! Someone had asked my wife if she knew a Jason Hamilton ... you can imagine the conversation.

That's effed up. Sorry to hear that.

For the same reason why most don't post under their real name, or have their home phone number and address in their sig.

Uhh...not quite the same as posting your address and phone number, is it?

Heck, I use my real name here and all other internet forums that I post on (including AVS forum, Hometheater forum, etc).

Uhh...not quite the same as posting your address and phone number, is it?

Heck, I use my real name here and all other internet forums that I post on (including AVS forum, Hometheater forum, etc).

Your name, state (which may be gathered from your license plate or profile) and maybe city may give away more than you think:
http://yourownprivateeye.com/

And just from your license plate:
http://www.abika.com/Reports/LicensePlates.htm

Now just imagine that someone gets really pissed off at you...and they are able to gather information such as your SSN, address. Do you have a clue of the damage they can do?

Rob, I've totally wondered the same thing. It's an internet-wide phenomenon, not just this site.

It's a bit harder to get to the car owner through a license plate than it is if you have their address or their phone number. Name alone is near impossible. You'd need a birth date...unless your name is Jason Hamilton. The Encyclopedia Brittanica says there's only one Jason Hamilton, and he lives in Tampa, Florida. The rest of us are safe.

Even if you go with the Oregon "DAVE" thing, how many people live in Oregon? Three? Four? Like half of them are named DAVE! :)

When I get my car on Friday or Saturday, the pics I post won't have the license number blurred. I'll be the test case for the rest of the internet.

Good luck on the car! But I am already the "test case" since I have listed my 93 RX-7 for sale and didn't blur the license plate number!

I'm a man on the edge!!!

:p

Uhh...not quite the same as posting your address and phone number, is it?Depends on who you piss off, for some, it's one and the same.

Your name, state (which may be gathered from your license plate or profile) and maybe city may give away more than you think:
http://yourownprivateeye.com/

And just from your license plate:
http://www.abika.com/Reports/LicensePlates.htm

Now just imagine that someone gets really pissed off at you...and they are able to gather information such as your SSN, address. Do you have a clue of the damage they can do?


Yeah, so don't piss people off!

Just like you shouldn't piss people off on the road. They can get your license plate then too. And I think you are much more likely to piss someone off to the point of wanting to track you down while driving on public streets than you are on the internet!

Uhh...not quite the same as posting your address and phone number, is it?

Heck, I use my real name here and all other internet forums that I post on (including AVS forum, Hometheater forum, etc).


It's just one more way of tracking you down.


http://www.google.com/search?sa=X&oi=fwp&pb=f&q=%22robert+tomlin%22+riverside,+california

I move around frequently, and use a PO box for almost all my mail, but my Aunt who works at the NIH was able to find me last year, even after I ignored her phone calls when she was in town. I guess my downfall was using a real address on my driver's licence :)

It's just one more way of tracking you down.


http://www.google.com/search?sa=X&oi=fwp&pb=f&q=%22robert+tomlin%22+riverside,+california

Nice try.

But that is NOT me!

:p

The easy answer .... not tracking you down .... some people are real assholes .. they'll write down your liscense plate number and say the make and model of your car to their insurance company and said YOU JUST COMMITED A HIT AND RUN ON THEM !!!

No bullshit , happened to a friend I knew, happens ALL THE TIME , so DO NOT PUT YOUR LISCENSE PLATE ON THE WEB.

Ok that is all, 8P

BTW, I found three listings for Jason Hamilton:


http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&pb=f&q=%22jason+hamilton%22+tampa%2C+florida&pb=f&btnG=Search+PhoneBook

None are me. I don't actually live in Tampa, I live just north of it.

I also lived in Saint Petersburg, FL, Spencer, NY, Bennington, KS, and Malibu, CA in the last three years.

PS: When using google, you can specify a state, like "FL" for all matches in the state.

The easy answer .... not tracking you down .... some people are real assholes .. they'll write down your liscense plate number and say the make and model of your car to their insurance company and said YOU JUST COMMITED A HIT AND RUN ON THEM !!!

No bullshit , happened to a friend I knew, happens ALL THE TIME , so DO NOT PUT YOUR LISCENSE PLATE ON THE WEB.

Ok that is all, 8P

Anyone who actually does this is a complete idiot and are likely to go to jail for filing a false report.

Think about it. When the police show up, and see there is no damage to the alleged "hit and run" vehicle, and you deny being involved in a hit and run, guess where the police are going next? Back to the person who made the false police report! Hardly a scam any semi-intelligent person is likely to engage in.

So the two Google searches did not produce the desired results from this board. I am safe!

:)

Because from a plate, a bad person can get your address.
Maverick (made by Mossberg) Model 88 12 Gauge Security Shotgun
6 round capacity with a changable pistol grip stock:D

Ironic that on http://www.abika.com/Reports/LicensePlates.htm Oregon is one of three states where they can not get your name from your license number. In reality in Oregon the password protected DAVE system was proceeded by being able to purchase the whole data base of license numbers and addresses for $19.95 from the state until someone decided it was a bad thing.

hmmz i dunno why everyone is thinking about tracking you ... they could care less ... think of it this way


They get a car same color as yours and hit their own car and the guy goes off , they have some made up witness, that said they saw you hit their car , and they got your liscense plate and make and model and said you hit and run .... Then they sue you cause they make up some injury ...


They do this alot to the rich people especially

Basically if this happens, it's your word against theirs ... and they got a witness , wow I love america .....


Anyways, basically this happened to my mom, and she got to the point where the other guy got scared and drop the insurance claim ...

Your name, state (which may be gathered from your license plate or profile) and maybe city may give away more than you think:
http://yourownprivateeye.com/

And just from your license plate:
http://www.abika.com/Reports/LicensePlates.htm

Now just imagine that someone gets really pissed off at you...and they are able to gather information such as your SSN, address. Do you have a clue of the damage they can do?

Funny thing is this started about PLATE numbers, and the form at one of the listed links doesn't ask for your plate number. They want so much information, you may as well knock on my door yourself and save yourself some money.

The other site wants between $35 and $70 to attempt a license plate search, and who knows what you actually get with that money. If you PayPal me $35 I'll proudly tell you what hand I beat off with.

I don't think I blank out mine, as it is a personalized plate. However, when I post pics of someone else's car I blank out their plate out of courtesy - some people are sensitive about that. I think it's kind of become standard car forum netiquette.

Ironic that on http://www.abika.com/Reports/LicensePlates.htm Oregon is one of three states where they can not get your name from your license number. In reality in Oregon the password protected DAVE system was proceeded by being able to purchase the whole data base of license numbers and addresses for $19.95 from the state until someone decided it was a bad thing.

That site also specifies that for California, you will only get the person's name, not their address.

I don't think I blank out mine, as it is a personalized plate. However, when I post pics of someone else's car I blank out their plate out of courtesy - some people are sensitive about that. I think it's kind of become standard car forum netiquette.

Yeah, I remember someone here posting a bunch of pics of RX-8's that he saw on the street. Initially he didn't blur the license plates and a few people told him he should do that.

Certainly there is no law against posting pics of cars and their license plates on the internet, but I do agree that "netiquette" would make it the proper thing to do.

And just to prove how much I live on the very edge, just take a look at this:

:eek:

I think most people blur thier plates for the reason of the car being located...
Yeah, while it may be no big deal on the street locally, but you also have to remember that you are not listed all your mods on the side of the car either.
If you post your plate along with a long list of what's in the car, then the car becomes easier to find and steal IMO.

And just to prove how much I live on the very edge, just take a look at this:

:eek:



lol youre selling it, thats cheating

It's just like blurring your face out when posting pics... People can see your face in public too ^_-

oh, and if you post pics with your liscenese plate... someone can go to a dealer and have "Connections" and find your address and such.

some people will do not nice things.

For the same reason why most don't post under their real name, or have their home phone number and address in their sig.

What's your real name?

This is an interesting thread. Why dont we start a thread where the owner's photos are uploaded to. Perhaps next to their mazda RX-8.