Why do people “blur or cover” their license plates? I don’t get it, do you?

[Dirty WOP]

I see it all the time and I guess I thought gee there is a lot of paranoid people out there.

 

Is there a good reason for doing this?

 

I think there is a much bigger risk of a thief following me around until I park my bike and then stealing my

Dirty WOP, then there is of someone see my bike in a photo on the internet and then somehow finding out where I live, then coming over to steal it[emoji848]

 

TELL THE TRUTH......have you ever blurred out or covered up your license plate in photos of your car or motorcycle, and you didn’t even know why you did it?

 

I haven’t but I will confess that I always have a loaded G19 on me whenever someone is coming over to buy something I’ve advertised for sale.

 

Say [emoji46].........

maybe I am the paranoid one after all!

 

[RevyRoamer]

Maybe they are secret spies, fbi, 007 types. 

I've never blurred any plate pics myself, but actually did have the license plate itself stolen off my pickup truck years ago. 

[Decreasing Dave]

Hey! Mr. Judgy McJudgerson.  It's not paranoia if they really are after you.

Edited July 12, 2018 by Decreasing Dave

[Repp]

Evidence of doing something illegal in a video. I would assume this is the number 1 reason. 

 

[wielywilly-g]

4 hours ago, Dirty WOP said:

 

I see it all the time and I guess I thought gee there is a lot of paranoid people out there.

 

Is there a good reason for doing this?

 

I think there is a much bigger risk of a thief following me around until I park my bike and then stealing my

Dirty WOP, then there is of someone see my bike in a photo on the internet and then somehow finding out where I live, then coming over to steal it

 

TELL THE TRUTH......have you ever blurred out or covered up your license plate in photos of your car or motorcycle, and you didn’t even know why you did it?

 

I haven’t but I will confess that I always have a loaded G19 on me whenever someone is coming over to buy something I’ve advertised for sale.

 

Say .........

maybe I am the paranoid one after all!

 

 

Probably for the same reason you don't share your location in your profile. The less personal info you post online the better of you are.

With a license plate number displayed, you may as well post your name addresss and phone number online.

[subxero]

12 minutes ago, wielywilly-g said:

Probably for the same reason you don't share your location in your profile. The less personal info you post online the better of you are.

With a license plate number displayed, you may as well post your name addresss and phone number online.

Probably shouldn't go out driving then either huh?  I mean it's not like anyone can see your plate and or take their own picture of it if they want right?   

Selling on a forum or craigslist has at least a little bit of anonymousness to it so linking the plate to a person is a little more tricky. I guess people blur the plate to make it at least a little more difficult for someone to link it to you as a person for whatever reason?? but again if someone really wants it, they can get it.  Selling stuff on FB though has really blown up recently and all of your ads are linked directly to your account in which most cases has a crap ton of info on you, your life, family ect...  Bluring a plate on a FB ad i kind of get, someone can easily get a plate number, all of your info, and do something with it all... what that is i'm not quite sure?  Make a fake plate and drivers license, registration to be a get away driver? sign you up for car insurance and pay for it? IDK?  

Like someone else said, maybe they have been doing shady stuff and don't want it out there so cops can find them easily.  Cops catch people all the time through for sales ads so that makes sense.  

[Pipester]

5 hours ago, Dirty WOP said:

 

I see it all the time and I guess I thought gee there is a lot of paranoid people out there.

 

Is there a good reason for doing this?

 

I think there is a much bigger risk of a thief following me around until I park my bike and then stealing my

Dirty WOP, then there is of someone see my bike in a photo on the internet and then somehow finding out where I live, then coming over to steal it

 

TELL THE TRUTH......have you ever blurred out or covered up your license plate in photos of your car or motorcycle, and you didn’t even know why you did it?

 

I haven’t but I will confess that I always have a loaded G19 on me whenever someone is coming over to buy something I’ve advertised for sale.

 

Say .........

maybe I am the paranoid one after all!

 

 

I’m chuckling at this as I took some photos of my street bike the other day to post. I sat there wondering if it was necessary to blur out the plate. I then came to the conclusion you can’t do much with a plate and to be honest I don’t really care. Here’s a few pics of that day (last Tuesday)

 

[Yap Yap]

Because it links your online activities to your real life identity, which is with all due respect is a stupid thing to do if you care about your privacy.

1 hour ago, OnPipe said:

I’m chuckling at this as I took some photos of my street bike the other day to post. I sat there wondering if it was necessary to blur out the plate. I then came to the conclusion you can’t do much with a plate and to be honest I don’t really care. Here’s a few pics of that day (last Tuesday)

You have shared some political posts before, luckily you live in the US where you somewhat have freedom of speech. Make that mistake somewhere else and you will be tracked down. You might even be tracked down for saying something offensive to the wrong person. It's not as hard as you think to look up your plate.

[RevyRoamer]

2 hours ago, OnPipe said:

I’m chuckling at this as I took some photos of my street bike the other day to post. I sat there wondering if it was necessary to blur out the plate. I then came to the conclusion you can’t do much with a plate and to be honest I don’t really care. Here’s a few pics of that day (last Tuesday)

 

Awesome bike!

[Doug.]

7 hours ago, Dirty WOP said:

I haven’t but I will confess that I always have a loaded G19 on me whenever someone is coming over to buy something I’ve advertised for sale.

 

 

Just as a word of caution. Never sell something you've listed online (or just to someone you don't know) out of your home. Meet them in a public place. 

[pat22043]

3 minutes ago, dmcgill40v said:

Just as a word of caution. Never sell something you've listed online (or just to someone you don't know) out of your home. Meet them in a public place. 

Most police stations welcome folks meeting in their parking lots.

I have sold a lot of stuff, even vehicles, over the years, but never from my house. Find a public place with lot of other people.

[Ben500RR-S]

Yup, even cops, who unless they have a legitimate reason for running a plate, can't just go and enter the database to look up names and addresses using the license plate numbers.  

Good luck finding the information out online.  

 

It is just paranoia.  

 

We drive around all day and all night and nothing happens with the information on the license plates that is out there 24/7.  

[john170950]

Same thing happens on the guns for sale sites, ppl cover the serial number, I think the fear being that someone will use the SN to fraudulently claim that the gun was stolen from them and have the cops seize it from you or something like that.

[Creeature]

3 hours ago, OnPipe said:

I’m chuckling at this as I took some photos of my street bike the other day to post. I sat there wondering if it was necessary to blur out the plate. I then came to the conclusion you can’t do much with a plate and to be honest I don’t really care. Here’s a few pics of that day (last Tuesday)

 

If someone posted a fraudulent ad with your bike pics and used that to rob someone wouldn't you rather not have your name/license plate tied to it? 

Edited July 12, 2018 by Dirt Mcgurt

[HansLanda]

Nothing good can come from it, and it takes 2 seconds to cover up. 

[LandLubber]

I do not post personal info on the internet. As far as I know there isn't a picture of me anywhere on the internet. You could narrow me down to the town I live in if tracking my online activity. But that is about it. 

Paranoid? Probably. But I am a white, conservative, gun owning, God fearing resident of a very liberal part of the country. I figure that makes me target enough without advertising who I am on the interwebs.

Edit: If any of you internet savvy guys can narrow me down farther, send me a PM with my address. I honestly do not know what is possible with the right knowledge in the wrong hands. ?

Edited July 12, 2018 by Bobatsea

[joemc04]

1 hour ago, Yap Yap said:

Because it links your online activities to your real life identity, which is with all due respect is a stupid thing to do if you care about your privacy.

You have shared some political posts before, luckily you live in the US where you somewhat have freedom of speech. Make that mistake somewhere else and you will be tracked down. You might even be tracked down for saying something offensive to the wrong person. It's not as hard as you think to look up your plate.

Its a lot easier than you think to get an name / address from a licence plate.  It's public information.  You just have to request it.  Your request of the information is also on record. I doubt anyone would go through the hoops needed to look up an address without a good reason.  It's easier to steal stuff that you just run into. 

[Ichmir Vlochlov]

I think it was more of a problem with higher value stuff, like it's easier to type "Ferarri" into Craigslist and locate one using the plate or contact info than to find one in a Wal-Mart parking lot. Sure as shit though, nobody is gonna go to the trouble to track your Hyundai down with a plate number. And I'll never buy anything from any moron that blocks the plate with their thumb.

[joemc04]

2 minutes ago, Studhaeuser said:

I think it was more of a problem with higher value stuff, like it's easier to type "Ferarri" into Craigslist and locate one using the plate or contact info than to find one in a Wal-Mart parking lot. Sure as shit though, nobody is gonna go to the trouble to track your Hyundai down with a plate number. And I'll never buy anything from any moron that blocks the plate with their thumb.

You have to go to a bakery/bagel store to find the Ferrari.

 

People drive their Ferraris on Sunday.  They also buy bagels on Sunday.

Edited July 12, 2018 by joemc04

[NoFiddyPilot]

I guess I don't get it. When I dual sport, my plate is in plain view for untold 1,000s. If someone wants a photo on the Interwebz, with a cell phone, it takes two seconds. I'm a nobody, so I don't see who would care. If you find me, tell me you're a TT'er and I'll buy you a beer. ?