Why mask your number plate?

[marc777]

It appears to have become the done thing to photo-shop out the car's number plate when posting pictures of cars?

I've never understood why- can anyone explain?

Marc

 

[High-Lo]

It appears to have become the done thing to photo-shop out the car's number plate when posting pictures of cars?

I've never understood why- can anyone explain?

Marc

Possibly due to 'cloning' i.e. to copy another cars number plate and applying the same to stolen car. I know the London congestion charge is having a big problem with cloned vehicles as genuine cars are getting 'caught' when the owners have been nowhere near London at the time.

 

[GrahamC230K]

The internet is is not vetted and it's a big bad world out there.

Fraud basically. I want to clone a cars appearance for my major crime ring or I just want to not pay the London Congestion charge - if someone wants to clone a prestige car - a website such as ours with pictures, spec lists and reg plates is ideal.

It really happens.

 

[Steve_Perry]

As posted above, mainly to reduce the risk of having one's car identity stolen / cloned etc. We try to minimise the risk by having certain sections, e.g. Members Gallery, accessible to registered members only but in this day and age you can never be too careful.

S.

 

[KillerHERTZ]

Also, if you say were to p!ss off someone on here, or another site etc, and they lived in the same town, whos to say if they saw your car in the street, they wouldnt do somthing to it?

 

[frog1520]

Also, if you say were to p!ss off someone on here, or another site etc, and they lived in the same town, whos to say if they saw your car in the street, they wouldnt do somthing to it?

like install shiny pedals when you're not looking ...

 

[glojo]

Possibly due to 'cloning' i.e. to copy another cars number plate and applying the same to stolen car. I know the London congestion charge is having a big problem with cloned vehicles as genuine cars are getting 'caught' when the owners have been nowhere near London at the time.

What an excellent point, I have never bothered blocking my registration number, but thanks to your post, that is my next mission.

Or I might make up a number.

Thanks very much
John

Oooppps just noticed the pics in my signature

Thanks again, I haven't bothered with the car, UNLESS you can make out the number?????

 

[pepper&boulou]

It appears to have become the done thing to photo-shop out the car's number plate when posting pictures of cars?

I've never understood why- can anyone explain?

Marc

Yes I've wondered that too, personally I don't mind anyone seeing my number.

 

[pepper&boulou]

The internet is is not vetted and it's a big bad world out there.

Fraud basically. I want to clone a cars appearance for my major crime ring or I just want to not pay the London Congestion charge - if someone wants to clone a prestige car - a website such as ours with pictures, spec lists and reg plates is ideal.

It really happens.

I would never have thought about it that way. You live and learn.

 

[glojo]

Yes I've wondered that too, personally I don't mind anyone seeing my number.

I was also of that opinion

I would never have thought about it that way. You live and learn.

Thanks to this forum and the ability to debate differing points of view, I have 'entered a different lobby'.

Am I over reacting? I personally do not think so. I do accept that whilst on the public highway every Tom **** and Harry can see the number plate and perhaps clone it.

However a Mercedes-Benz forum is an easy place to find countless pictures of this fine marque, and then perhaps take advantage of any information.

Should I start a web-site "Number plates Re-united". after all the owners of "Friends Re-United" are now millionaires!!

Thanks for the input
John

 

[peterchurch]

it's more likely to find that if a criminal gang really want a set of car details they will bribe someone in the main dealership and get the whole list of customers. Not spend the afternoon faffing about on websites on the off chance of getting a few plates...

Also that way if stopped they have the name and address of the owner of the car and would pass a police chat / check without showing any ID The average joe in the street cant just get plates made up anymore as you need V5 and photo ID to get them made (and the plates have a makers registration on it to trace it back to the maker)

This goes back to the other post about databases housing owner info and plate details.

I would say that you should be quite safe to show a plate on the net. If we are not then maybe we should not leave them on the car when we park in car parks / public places

 

[Flyer]

Picture this scenario Peter:

I live in London and own a red SLK320. I'm a bit of a chancer, wheeler and dealer, ducker and diver (cliche city!) and am fed up with paying congestion charges, redlight camera fines and speed camera fines. I spot a fine red SLK on MBClub, similar year to mine. I have fancyplates* in Ireland make up some plates with the same registration on.

I'm now immune! Of course, if I get stopped by the police, I'm in some bother, but being the geezer I am, I will probably have thought of a get-out clause. The rightful owner of the SLK registration now receives lots of postage from CC London and London SCP.

* fancyplates are outside the UK so don't need any form of ID to make up a plate. I had mine made up by them. Along with a spare set with a registration found on MBOA for those trips to London.

 

[Flash]

Picture this scenario Peter:

* fancyplates are outside the UK so don't need any form of ID to make up a plate. I had mine made up by them. Along with a spare set with a registration found on MBOA for those trips to London.

LOL

 

[glojo]

Picture this scenario Peter:

I live in London and own a red SLK320. I'm a bit of a chancer, wheeler and dealer, ducker and diver (cliche city!) and am fed up with paying congestion charges, redlight camera fines and speed camera fines. I spot a fine red SLK on MBClub, similar year to mine. I have fancyplates* in Ireland make up some plates with the same registration on.

Works for me.

I cannot understand how the Police can prosecute someone SOLELY on the evidence of the registration number. I accept that there might be other distinguishing marks available and that may well be good enough to raise the standard of prove to an acceptable level. BUT on JUST the number plate, then that MUST be wrong.

Imagine someone photographed at 120mph on a restricted road (instant ban, and maybe imprisonment???). The real registration number belongs to a car user whose livelihood rests on having a driving licence. He is single and lives on his own. There is no way he can prove that his vehicle, same make and colour of the one photographed was NOT the one in the photograph, because he has no independant witness. Surely the Police MUST PROVE guilt?? Yet there have been a number of convictions??

Also sadly celebrities with money getting away with using the above excuse. JUSTICE?????

What about using 'Diplomatic Plates'?

 

[peterchurch]

Picture this scenario Peter:

I'm now immune! Of course, if I get stopped by the police, I'm in some bother, but being the geezer I am, I will probably have thought of a get-out clause. The rightful owner of the SLK registration now receives lots of postage from CC London and London SCP.

* fancyplates are outside the UK so don't need any form of ID to make up a plate. I had mine made up by them. Along with a spare set with a registration found on MBOA for those trips to London.

First point if you are stopped with false plates on you will be going for a ride in a police car and there are no get out of jail free cards for that

Other than that, I agree with the plan, but its far easier/ faster to walk round a car park and case 3 or 4 plates than wander round on a forum. On the subject of using them to avoid the CC charges. They will be able to pick out the driver of the vehicle if they really need to. (got gatsoed A few years ago and banned for it too! The pictures were so clear that you could read the phone number of the car dealer on the plates !!) So if you were to start running up massive bills and the complaints that go with it from the real owner of the car they will simply put the car on a list of vehicles to investigate on sight and you will eventually get caught :-( unless you have moved plates again that is.

Last time I looked into this the punishment for plate tampering is 5 years in prison and a hefty fine. Now if you had a banger that was not registered to you and you could just drop it and run off, it's worth a risk. But to take a distinctive car that costs 15K plus then invalidate the insurance to drive it round in a city full of unlicenced plebs just looking for a car to crash into,
just to evade a £5 charge....

I don't know about you but those odds don't stack up do they?

regards,

Peter

 

[Shude]

First point if you are stopped with false plates on you will be going for a ride in a police car and there are no get out of jail free cards for that

How?

If the police run a check against your plates and you were clever enough to clone them from a car with a similar description, then you already got through the first layer of protection! Give them false information about your name and address, take the producer and throw it in the bin. What have they got? A load of info that doesn't add up! Change the plates again (possibly change car) and you got away with it!

 

[peterchurch]

How?

If the police run a check against your plates and you were clever enough to clone them from a car with a similar description, then you already got through the first layer of protection! Give them false information about your name and address, take the producer and throw it in the bin. What have they got? A load of info that doesn't add up! Change the plates again (possibly change car) and you got away with it!

If they stopped you then they would check the VIN (another piece of info most people would not post on the board), and see that you are telling porkies Although the other officer seems to stand round doing not much while you are on the roadside they are actually going through a list of checks (without you knowing what they are checking) They spend most of the day doing this so they get quite good at finding the things you have overlooked

 

[glojo]

Definitely agree the false plates are a bit 'dodgy' if you get stopped.
You will immediately start digging yourself into a bottomless pit.

Do you know the full name and address of the real registered keeper?
No,,,Go to jail Don't pass go

Do you know if the real registered keeper has acriminal record (he might)

I am impressed at the quality of Gatso picture. If it can indeed read the telephone number of your registration plate, then bang goes my idea of denial.

Do you get to see the picture when you receive your speeding summons, or must you plead not guilty and ask for the picture? (Oh how naïve I am)

This is an excellent place for information.

Thanks for any advice,
John

 

[peterchurch]

I think I only got the photos because I was a total prat and was not only over the 10% limit but over the national speed limit on 40 limit In my defence the road was an empty dual carraigeway at 3am with an inappropriate limit set...
14 day ban £500 fine

It then cost me thousands in extra insurance premiums over the next 5 years. So now I keep my speed down...

As for speeding fines you should always request the evidence! _BEFORE_ you give the police a confesion. They have to prove it was you behind the wheel not make you confess to it. If you want good advice on this matter try

http://www.speed-trap.co.uk/ or
http://www.safespeed.org.uk

The point that I have tried to maintian through this, is that a Merc costs a lot of money. Money that you will lose if you have an accident or get caught while driving it round on someone elses plates. So most people won't bother as for organised theft? that is credible but they are far more likely to get a dealer database and use that to find the car they want than waist time here.

Best regards,

Peter

 

[glojo]

The point that I have tried to maintian through this, is that a Merc costs a lot of money. Money that you will lose if you have an accident or get caught while driving it round on someone elses plates. So most people won't bother as for organised theft? that is credible but they are far more likely to get a dealer database and use that to find the car they want than waist time here.

Best regards,

Peter

Totally agree with all your observations. Thanks very much for the links which I am off to read with interest.

Regards,
John