Why do people black out their plates?

Ok. Dumb question. Why do a bunch of you guys black out your plates when you post a pick of your truck?

Don't more people see your plate number every day you drive your truck?

If parked in a parking lot can't a thief get your plate number and VIN number in a matter of seconds?

If in your driveway a thief can get your VIN, plate, address, and with a quick visit to the county assesor have your legal name as well?

So what's the risk of posting your plate number on TW?

 

Paranoia is the only reason.

 

They watched Gone in 60 Sec one too many times, and believe they own some sort of an exotic.

 

I always black out my plate when parked in my driveway so thieves can't figure out where I live.

 

They also put tin foil in their headliners...

Honestly, they are probably worried that they might piss off the wrong person who has LE database access.

 

russians might use it to figure out where they live...... so they can take their baja lights...

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/licence-plate-question.543506/

 

I would assume it's because several posts on here are accentuating recent mods (usually expensive), whereas on the street or parked somewhere people won't necessarily notice the mod? But, no se.

Or perhaps they are protecting themselves in anticipation that they are going to piss off a member who may then look them up for revenge?

 

Yep this is why. Cops have gotten busted before for using state databases for personal reasons so its not too far fetched. That being said I'd probably not be posting pics of my truck at all if I didnt want to be recognized.

 

People can see your plates every day on the road but they do not link it to you per se. Pissing people off online can get your shit fucked with if they tie your username to a plate. I've seen that before so that's why I used to blank mine out but now I don't care. Come get some.

 

No matter what the rational is, you do drive around with your plates exposed to the public so any of the catastrophic things people are worried about with their plates on the web, are the same when you drive around.

That said I have blocked mine out in the past just because everyone else does it and I want to one of the cool kids.

 

Too many crazies on the internet. Anonymity is wise.

 

Come on over

 

It's best to stay anonymous on the internet -- a lot of people use the same username across many sites, showing their interests, and often posting personal information. Knowing that, it's trivial to target someone with a for sale item to get their name and / or phone number if you really want to.

Some people have plates with their callsign on it. That's a trivial public look-up on the FCC site for anyone to immediately know the name and address associated with someone posting.

License plates are tied to names and addresses. These aren't only in LEO databases.


All that said, there is a balance between convenience and exposure. There are definitely valid reasons to hide your plates though.

 

I sit on my bumper while my wife is in Walmart so noone sees my plates. I'm paranoid like that.

 

meh, I post mine don't matter since a lot of the time its in the garage or its -20F. if you want to come up here during winter (which is normally from October thru march, go right ahead. I will sit inside and watch you freeze your a$$ off and then call the insurance company and be done with it

 

If I take a picture of somebody else's vehicle and post it I'll black out their plate, but I don't usually bother with mine.

 

To maintain their online anonymity

 

Come on down...I have insurance. I'm looking at a 2018 cement OR and need a down payment.

Please tell my insurance agent that you stole the truck with a 72in TV, a pile of Rolex's and my kids college fund.

(Yes I spent their college fund on Mods)

 

The same question I asked myself yesterday when I posted my truck... I never do it...