Is posting license plates on the forums a bad idea?

[formattc]

The fact that Matt is on this site without a Gladiator should make at least one of you guys very nervous!

LOL, I decided to buy a Wrangler in the end, took delivery about a week and a half ago.

He probably has access to databases we don't due to his job. I could see him having the ability to match a plate number to a registration. That registration gives him a name and address which in turn gives him access to SSNs via another database. It's just connecting the dots from one bit of info to the next.

That is exactly the case, one piece of information leads to all of the others. Two pieces of information and I'm guaranteed to find everything else.

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[5JeepsAz]

Wynn Resorts is using thermal cameras to monitor the temperatures of guests in Las Vegas.

“We will be screening for temperature using non-invasive thermal cameras at all our entrances,” Wynn CEO Matt Maddox said in a statement.

The USA TODAY Network asked the company how it will use temperature readings:

"Any person registering a temperature of 100.4F or higher will be discreetly informed by a trained member of the security team and not be permitted to remain inside the resort," a company statement said.

 

[5JeepsAz]

Do you think the security team won't scan your license into the computer? Once digitized, think the computers won't track you after that? Think the people you've contacted won't be digitally screened to identify clusters? C'mon now. And, let's suppose it's not community health, but that this happens all the time? It does. And has been for decades. My issue is the AI aspect. Once this process is fully automated, meaning no human judgement, it can be pointed, and will be pointed, by the dude with the cash to make it happen. And if you think a forum full of Patriots with good jobs in high places is the wrong placec to guard against this, I ask you where then? We need to think this shit through brothers. My opinions. #firstbecausesecond

 

[msujedi]

This thread veered into Creepyland pretty fast.

I spoke with this astrologer once whose 'gift' only worked in a dark room with a computer.

Given a license plate number on a forum post in a dark room, he could conjure ... or 'see' the following things even before looking at Facebook!

SSNs
Addresses, possibly going back decades.
Phone numbers, also possibly going back decades.
Email addresses.
IP addresses
Bankruptcies.
Lawsuits.
Criminal records.
Relatives, including distant, most often.
Utilities, utility bills.

@formattc

 

[John Lenheiser]

I pretty much laugh at those people who want to be private and think no one can get there personal information, what world are they living in.

 

[Gvsukids]

I pretty much laugh at those people who want to be private and think no one can get there personal information, what world are they living in.

Their own where no one is watching.

 

[XraytecH]

I was talking to a DMV employee today who told me that its not a good idea since anyone can come in and armed with a plate number, ‘pull a registration’- which means that person would be then driving an unregistered vehicle. I have never heard of such a thing, and wondered if he were mistaken. I see license plates on these boards from time to time, but sometimes I see the plates blurred out too.

So... what do you guys think?

 

[Barnaby’sdad]

Well…having been doxed on an open forum years ago…count me in the “blur out the license plate” camp.

At the end of the day though…If someone is a big enough psycho, they’ll find your information regardless of how you doctor your vehicle pictures.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

2.5 years..........

As has been hashed ad nauseam, if they want your info, they'll get your info.
Scouring forums, especially those aimed at niche things, isn't their best or easiest way to get said into.
It's like any jerk/criminal/bored person - they want quick gratification, quick results, bang for the buck -most bang for the buck/time isn't looking for plates through forums with limited audience.

You can't walk into the DMV with a plate number and get info. (being connected to government with our own inside contacts, we found this out personally multiple times)
If that person gives you said info, speak to their supervisor and get them fired. There are laws and rules. My wife wasn't even able to look up things as simple as birth dates after being able to do so for many years through her job. A reason must be given and there's risk of a follow-up later as accesses are tracked. (too bad the IRS doesn't follow the rules)
But you can easily get it almost any place else. (like a license plate lookup web site - don't need no bloody DMV crook to give that info - plug it into a web site - bang, instant total info)
People sweat over the most minor things.
Fly a drone over a parking lot, pick the cars that look like they might lead you to some goodies, plug the plate numbers in online, get the info and go steal their stuff or take the car.
A forum is where it's personal, not general.
Doxxing - if it happened on a forum, it was most likely personal. They wanted to get YOU specifically. It's aimed at people or for reasons.

My son pointed out that he found a picture of his home that was taken at a time my truck was in his driveway........ so don't think you are being clever by blurring your plate. If they want ya, they'll get ya.
Take your plates off while driving, cover them when parked on the street or in a parking lot.

 

[ryanlsmith]

2.5 years..........

My son pointed out that he found a picture of his home that was taken at a time my truck was in his driveway........ so don't think you are being clever by blurring your plate. If they want ya, they'll get ya.

Yea, I stopped worrying about plates and more about actual revealing info - like landmarks/neighbors' house numbers. I even caught myself posting screenshots of maps that had too much detail/resolution.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Yea, I stopped worrying about plates and more about actual revealing info - like landmarks/neighbors' house numbers. I even caught myself posting screenshots of maps that had too much detail/resolution.

Google allows you to take a photograph and it will compare and show you similar things. I took a picture while we were driving through Florida - and while looking at the pic on my phone in the Gallery, Google showed me several similar objects and in the end, another picture of that exact item.
And if you post a picture, depending on how the forum, etc. treats it, GPS info may be in that photo file. I can go back to photos I took while i Israel and posted later and can find the exact GPS coordinates they were taken from.

 

[ryanlsmith]

Google allows you to take a photograph and it will compare and show you similar things. I took a picture while we were driving through Florida - and while looking at the pic on my phone in the Gallery, Google showed me several similar objects and in the end, another picture of that exact item.
And if you post a picture, depending on how the forum, etc. treats it, GPS info may be in that photo file. I can go back to photos I took while i Israel and posted later and can find the exact GPS coordinates they were taken from.

Very good points. For better or worse, I looked it up recently and at least Facebook strips that EXIF data.

 

[Minty JL]

With their tag number, I can find out every other piece of important information about their life, before I even start looking at Facebook.

I can see:

SSNs
Addresses, possibly going back decades.
Phone numbers, also possibly going back decades.
Email addresses.
IP addresses
Bankruptcies.
Lawsuits.
Criminal records.
Relatives, including distant, most often.
Utilities, utility bills.

....and more, so yes, hide your license plates online, always.

No biggie for me, the Federal govt via OPM has done a stellar job at leaking all of my information over the last 25 years.

Either way, going on to someone property is risk business. Instead of using firearms, I like to blast them with a fire extinguisher. By the time they attempt to get cleaned up, the Law has arrived.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Very good points. For better or worse, I looked it up recently and at least Facebook strips that EXIF data.

Yeah, that's sort of why I said "depending on how the forum treats it" as some do a direct upload modifying only the file size, compression, whatever, while FB at least strips that info.
Imagine putting up a photo only to find you just gave the world your exact GPS coordinates.

 

[HooliganActual]

I would honestly be less worried about having my plate in a picture than whatever else might be in the picture...

Several years back on a watch (i.e. timepiece) forum I am on, a guy posted a picture of a fully restored and very rare Rolex Submariner (it happened to be the same vintage as the one worn by Sean Connery in the first Bond flick) which was worth around 6 figures. He took the picture using his phone but the geo-tagging on his phone wasn't turned off. A couple days later, his house was robbed and the only thing taken was the Rolex.

EDIT: @ShadowsPapa & @ryanlsmith : this is exactly what you guys were posting about while I was typing this post up

It's arguable to think that it may have been a coincidence; HOWEVER, posting photos that are geo-tagged certainly gives someone your location. I'm not really worried about someone seeing my license plate and thinking "Hey, there's a Jeep Gladiator somewhere in Arizona that I want to steal!" because chances are there are plenty of Jeep Gladiators closer to that person; but I certainly think you are running a huge risk posting photos of your newly installed Molon Labe decal while your COPO 1968 Camaro Z/28 Convertible sits in the background. Geo-tagged photo or not, license plate or not, that might make the thieves come out of the woodwork.

As my old man used to say "Keep the honest people honest". So I don't have an issue with putting the license plate in a photo on here, but I probably won't show anything that might be more desirable to steal than one of the 78,000 2020 Gladiators on the road.

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