Number Plate Cloning

[ZZR600Dude]

I saw a documentory the other day on TV about criminals who browse forums looking for pics of car number plates.
They look for particular cars eg an EVO owners club, note the colour and exact model and plate of members picture postings then go out and steal a car in that specification. They then put fake plates on the car matching that of the pic in the forum. The owner wont even know they have been cloned until they start receiving speeding fines or the police turn up at your door claiming your vehicle has been involved in a serious crime.

No disrespect to anyone who has gone to the effort of posting pic of our ride outs but I was thinking we could be susceptable to the same crime if we dont blank out number plates in the pictures.

[wiltshire builders]

I had this with my van. I got a fine for un paid parking tickets in Luton. Think it's all sorted now but had to get the police out to verify that mine was the real van and not the clone and my van is on the police data base as a potential cloned vehicle.

[ro]

I think any risk from number plates appearing in photos is very small. From reports of real crimes involving number plates, it seems very much more likely that a criminal will just make up your registration number by chance. If they make some effort ot match the plate to the make and model, they'll do it by seeing you on the road, or by getting illicit access to the DVLA database (which seems not to be as hard as it should be).

If do you get cloned (however they get your number) it's going to be some hassle, but probably not very much (unless you're exceptionally unlucky) because the police know this occurs and have a process for dealing with it.

Personally, I'm happy that showing my number plate in a photo doesn't justify even the small effort involved in blanking it out, but then I keep GPS track logs of everywhere I go, so I've always got an alibi You have to make your own risk assessment and might come to a different conclusion. If anyone objects a picture I've taken and linked to on a public forum (for this or any other reason), just let me know and I'll happily remove the link.

[ZZR600Dude]

I think any risk from number plates appearing in photos is very small. From reports of real crimes involving number plates, it seems very much more likely that a criminal will just make up your registration number by chance. If they make some effort ot match the plate to the make and model, they'll do it by seeing you on the road, or by getting illicit access to the DVLA database (which seems not to be as hard as it should be).

If do you get cloned (however they get your number) it's going to be some hassle, but probably not very much (unless you're exceptionally unlucky) because the police know this occurs and have a process for dealing with it.

Personally, I'm happy that showing my number plate in a photo doesn't justify even the small effort involved in blanking it out, but then I keep GPS track logs of everywhere I go, so I've always got an alibi You have to make your own risk assessment and might come to a different conclusion. If anyone objects a picture I've taken and linked to on a public forum (for this or any other reason), just let me know and I'll happily remove the link.

Ro,

I am happy for my bike to be on any of your pics with its plate showing. And thanks for taking and uploading ride out pics. Just thought it may be an interesting topic of discussion.

[Davey]

If I post any pictures of bikes I will always blank out number plates and would appreciate any pictures of mine either be blanked or completely removed. I have seen quite a few cases of people getting fines, summons or arrested due to cloning.

[Ryan]

If i post pics i always blank the number plates, but im not overly botherd about it, so if anyone posts pics of my bike and dosent block the plate i aint botherd, if it gets cloned the police just do what they do to sort it and thats it, chances are pretty small anyway i would say, but interesting topic anyway

[Jon_W]

I either try and not post a pic with plates in or blank the plates. Better safe than sorry.

I also don't like giving my location after a friend got broken into... ... the people knew what was in there and it was reckoned that his posts gave them the info.

[Davey]

I either try and not post a pic with plates in or blank the plates. Better safe than sorry.

I also don't like giving my location after a friend got broken into... ... the people knew what was in there and it was reckoned that his posts gave them the info.

Someone on another forum whilst having a similar discussion managed to get full details of owner, address, insurance and MOT within no time of someones bike! Internet is great :P He wouldn't say where or how he got it but didn't take long

[ZZR600Dude]

Going back to Ro's comment though about were equally likely to be spotted on the road and cloned.

Think it actually works like this:

criminal gangs drive around the area looking for a a particular bike or car, they make a note of several oportunties. They then browse several forums Imprezza owners club, EVO club, Fireblabe owners etc etc.

They find a pic of a similar vehicle to one they have spotted then steal one of the vehicles spotted earlier for cloning. They can do this pic searching from the comfort of their chair.

Being spotted on the roads is more difficult for them as they they have to know the whereabouts of a vehicle to steal that matches that vehicle that has just driven by.

[Bennett]

It's weird that it's the people that most likely failed school and joined gangs that created this?