Why blur your license plate?

[RockMonkey]

Along the lines of personal privacy.

Go here

http://www.progressive.com/

Enter your zip code, then name and address on the next screen, and suddenly you know what cars you own??? what is with that? I can learn more about the cars Rockmonkey owns with that than he probably want me to know. Do I bother sneeking by his house to steal a Mazda mirror if he does not own a Mazda?

No I did not look up rockmonkeys cars, and no I don't need a mazda mirror.

Wow, it got them all right, except for the two that are not registered. Interesting. So what I'm getting out of this is that everyone's information is everywhere. You can't hide it, even by blurring out your license plate when you post pics on the web. Anyone can find out anything about you if they really want to. If you're worried about identity theft you need to protect yourself other ways, like filing a fraud alert with the credit bureaus and watching your credit report. None of this has convinced me to start blurring my plates.

 

[Tacoma]

yeah, credit bureaus get right on fixing issues LOL

 

[RockMonkey]

Working for several years in a job that I routinely ran credit, I can tell you that the fraud alert works. Every time someone had a fraud alert on their credit they had to answer some very detailed questions about their personal history to be approved. Stuff someone who stole their information from a pic of a license plate online would not know.

 

[Greg]

Wow, it got them all right, except for the two that are not registered. Interesting. So what I'm getting out of this is that everyone's information is everywhere. You can't hide it, even by blurring out your license plate when you post pics on the web. Anyone can find out anything about you if they really want to. If you're worried about identity theft you need to protect yourself other ways, like filing a fraud alert with the credit bureaus and watching your credit report. None of this has convinced me to start blurring my plates.

Probably uses the same insurance system the police use to check if you have current car ins. when you get pulled over. Crazy how publicly available that info is though...

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Progressive doesn't have my Cruisers, but it does have me for a 97' Pontiac Grand Prix... big pimpin; I think the PO of my house had a Pontiac so that makes sense. It does have the Taco and the Scion... pretty wild.

 

[78mitsu]

It's pretty sound advice to not advertise any information you don't have to on the interweb. Risk management, there are 1.7 million people in the valley. There are 1,244,449,601 people on the internet right now, the difference is they have to see your car on the street driving around, you have limited contact, right time, right place. On the internet your tag is visable all the time from anywhere in the world and will be even after you remove the picture, basically once it's posted it's part of the glob until the end of time. It only takes on person who is interested in violating your privacy to ruin your day. By posting it on the internet you increase the exposure by several orders of magnitude. In the end, it's your kneck, your risk, risk it how you will.

 

[78mitsu]

Working for several years in a job that I routinely ran credit, I can tell you that the fraud alert works. Every time someone had a fraud alert on their credit they had to answer some very detailed questions about their personal history to be approved. Stuff someone who stole their information from a pic of a license plate online would not know.

That depends on how dedicated you are, 95% of hacking is social engineering, it has nothing to do with computers. Find one piece of the puzzle fit three together, SSN ,marraige cert, spouses SSN, kids SSN, Wifes Maiden Name, Mothers Maiden Name, employment history etc. etc.. It doesn't take too long to do enough research to be able to answer all those questions.

 

[RockMonkey]

That depends on how dedicated you are, 95% of hacking is social engineering, it has nothing to do with computers. Find one piece of the puzzle fit three together, SSN ,marraige cert, spouses SSN, kids SSN, Wifes Maiden Name, Mothers Maiden Name, employment history etc. etc.. It doesn't take too long to do enough research to be able to answer all those questions.

You wont get any of that from the DMV by giving them a plate #.

 

[Milner]

Plus, I keep them in a fanny pack, I know when its there

When I travel I often only carry neccessities in a waterproof necklace, cash, id, a low limit card and a house key, everything else is locked away safe

This paints a great mental picture....I can just see Kurt in his old man jumpsuit/overalls with his fanny pack in the front, slip on shoes, and wallet necklcace hanging around his neck.

 

[78mitsu]

You wont get any of that from the DMV by giving them a plate #.

That's right, but you have to start somewhere, lp#->name/address/phone number. That's most of the puzzle, the rest is where the 'engineering' comes in.

 

[Milner]

For me....I deal with people that don't like me, I park where they can easily see my car, I just don't want to make it easier for them....Yes they can find me if they want to, but I don't want to just hand the info to them....Yes, my plates are "protected files." Not an issue of ID theft, but just trying to fly low and stay under the radar....Never a bad thing....

 

[Caleb]

I'm with Braden on this... sure there are a bunch of "what ifs" but overall it poses littler or no risk. You can get the same owner info from the VIN of a car, and folks post those up all over, never heard of an issue there. For a small fee you can find anything out about a person, I don't think a license plate number or lack thereof is going to cause much of an issue. Now, if your posting pics of your rig in Forest Lake, I would go ahead and blur the plates... but as I recall it wasn't the plates that got his identity posted all over the internet.

I'm with Kurt and Braden, I've never understood the need to blur your plate when posting pics. As Braden has said multiple times, thousands of people have the opportunity to see your plate every day (greenies included).

I think you all just have the tinfoil on too tight

 

[cruiseroutfit]

This paints a great mental picture....I can just see Kurt in his old man jumpsuit/overalls with his fanny pack in the front, slip on shoes, and wallet necklcace hanging around his neck.

For reals But I don't carry both of them, only one or the other. Any my shoes are VELCRO. Don't hate me cause I'm hip... tragically hip that is!

 

[SAMI]

i run two different plates that way, it throws everyone off

 

[SAMI]

can you really help your plate going on the web? let's say your out wheeling and people take pictures of your rig?... you have absolutlely no clue who they are.. they post that picture who knows where... i mean really.. just run two plates... and your good to go

-Jason

 

[Jinx]

Yes they can find me if they want to, but I don't want to just hand the info to them....Yes, my plates are "protected files." Not an issue of ID theft, but just trying to fly low and stay under the radar....Never a bad thing....

Marc, in agreeing with you I must be silly too,

hell, I bet we are the only two people, besides Meat , who lock our doors. Anyone who really wants to get in can so why do it? and besides I am not giving them my TV and such, I am just not opening the door...

 

[notajeep]

I keep the key in the toyota......
But no one will take it..

 

[benjy]

Along the lines of personal privacy.

Go here

http://www.progressive.com/

Enter your zip code, then name and address on the next screen, and suddenly you know what cars you own??? what is with that? I can learn more about the cars Rockmonkey owns with that than he probably want me to know. Do I bother sneeking by his house to steal a Mazda mirror if he does not own a Mazda?

No I did not look up rockmonkeys cars, and no I don't need a mazda mirror.

I wonder where they're pulling that info from... I tried the 3 places I've lived in the last year (and the address where my cars are actually registered ) and each time my parent's cars showed up, but none of my cars... I haven't been on my parent's insurance in over 5 years

 

[RockMonkey]

Starting the read now... This could be a while.

Done. All 73 pages. That sucked. No one got any information from his license plate. They got it from info he freely posted throughout the web. I still have not found any story of someone having their identity stolen by posting a pic of their license plate on the web. There's just way too many easier ways to get the info that you could possibly get from the DMV.

I'm unconvinced. Until I see evidence of a credible threat, I will believe plate blurring is just paranoia.

 

[Meat_]

I never said they used his plate, I used that as an example as to why you shouldn't give any info away.