[DeTomaso] NPC? Why do people black out license plate numbers in photos on Internet?

Garth Rodericks garth_rodericks at yahoo.com
Sat Jun 15 12:59:08 EDT 2013


Just a guess, but I believe the concern here is that if someone wanted to 
steal your car they could find your address (presumably the location of 
the car) from the license plate. 


In California you used to be able to walk into the DMV with a license 
plate number, fill out a form, state that this vehicle is blocking part 
of your  driveway and that you'd like to ask the owner to move it, wait a moment, then walk out with the registered owner's address.  Again, you 
used to be able to do this in California, but I believe they no longer give out addresses. 


But as Mike already pointed out, your just as likely (perhaps more likely) 
to have the same thing happen if you drive your car out in public or 
take it to a car show,  because now the would be perpetrator has the 
benefit of "proximity;"  he know's the car is in the neighborhood so to 
speak, versus trying to uncover addresses for countless cars found on 
the internet to only find they live half way across the country, which 
limits his opportunity.


Cheers!
Garth



--- Original Message ---
I've heard "protect my privacy", and "protect against theft" but have never
understood the risk.  I've happily posted zillions of pictures of my car with the license plate
visible as I'm not sure what anyone could do with simply the license plate
number. It isn't a country-specific thing, and they tend to do it all over. I don't
see how someone can steal my car because they know what the license plate
number is. If I attend an event in a DeTomaso Pantera GT5-S, then I'm not
really seeking to protect my privacy - I'd attend in something a shade more
discrete.  I more or less follow Mike's philosophy - I think that my car, my VIN
number, and even my license plate have been sufficiently well documented in
various public forums so that if it were stolen, I'm sure that someone would
raise the voice of alarm if it showed up for sale somewhere. If you ask people to erase your license plate number, why do you do it? Just
curious, and wondering if I'm too innocent? Thanks!
Charles McCall


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