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Paranoia? Public VIN Disclosure

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Old Feb 26, 2004 | 05:54 PM
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Default Paranoia? Public VIN Disclosure

Would you post your VIN in a public forum or registry? Just curious.
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Old Feb 26, 2004 | 06:46 PM
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Default Re: Paranoia? Public VIN Disclosure (paul67)

Good question I don't think I would.
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Old Feb 26, 2004 | 06:51 PM
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Default Re: Paranoia? Public VIN Disclosure (paul67)

Why not? What's the risk?
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Old Feb 26, 2004 | 06:54 PM
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Default Re: Paranoia? Public VIN Disclosure (paul67)

You can have mine and my license plate number to go with it.

Mine have been posted in several sites for years.

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Old Feb 26, 2004 | 07:05 PM
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Default Re: Paranoia? Public VIN Disclosure (Corvette_fetish)

Your car can be tracked to a location: where you live. The same for posting pics with license plate numbers.
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Old Feb 26, 2004 | 07:08 PM
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Default Re: Paranoia? Public VIN Disclosure (bamavettes)

Does that not make you uneasy? Potential theft?
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Old Feb 26, 2004 | 07:25 PM
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Default Re: Paranoia? Public VIN Disclosure (paul67)

That doesn't worry me.

What worries me is that lady following me in a SUV talking on her cell phone and turning around to the back seat swatting at her kids.
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Old Feb 26, 2004 | 07:36 PM
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Default Re: Paranoia? Public VIN Disclosure (bamavettes)

That worries me also. But that is not the issue. Corvette-Finders International (fictitious) may be coming after your car. I used the word paranoia ;) .
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Old Feb 26, 2004 | 07:37 PM
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Default Re: Paranoia? Public VIN Disclosure (paul67)

paul I think not. I've been reading your posts for years and there's enough info to find you with that alone. To get actual home address I'd probably have to have a friend in the DMV/ local police department so it's not a real worry in my book.

David
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Old Feb 26, 2004 | 07:45 PM
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Default Re: Paranoia? Public VIN Disclosure (Cali,68,L-79)

David,
Quite true. If they want your car they will find you! But note that the full licence plate number does not appear in any of my pics.


[Modified by paul67, 8:00 PM 2/26/2004]
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Old Feb 26, 2004 | 07:46 PM
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Default Re: Paranoia? Public VIN Disclosure (Cali,68,L-79)

no, but only because there is no reason to do so, serves no purpose and like bamavette, I to worry about STUPID PEOPLE who use their cell phone while driving
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Old Feb 26, 2004 | 07:50 PM
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Default Re: Paranoia? Public VIN Disclosure (LT1driver)

OK. But my concern is about privacy of your vehicle and not soccer moms.
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Old Feb 26, 2004 | 08:07 PM
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Default Re: Paranoia? Public VIN Disclosure (Cali,68,L-79)

paul I think not. I've been reading your posts for years and there's enough info to find you with that alone. To get actual home address I'd probably have to have a friend in the DMV/ local police department so it's not a real worry in my book.

David
I can find the owner of any car in Ontario with the VIN # and $20 to do a vehicle history search

I don't need a friend in the DMV

Edit it does however only give the city or town

Steve :steering:


[Modified by stpman, 8:16 PM 2/26/2004]
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Old Feb 26, 2004 | 08:08 PM
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Default Re: Paranoia? Public VIN Disclosure (paul67)

In CA, the public no longer has access to owner information via VIN or plate numbers. This law was passed 15-20 years ago after a young actress was murdered by a stalker who got her address information from her plate.

Don't know about other states (or Canada), but I would think this would be true in most places by now, given all of the current concerns about privacy. The only thing I can get with a VIN is a Carfax that will show me where a car is or has been registered, but not to whom.
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Old Feb 26, 2004 | 08:26 PM
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Default Re: Paranoia? Public VIN Disclosure (paul67)

Your car can be tracked to a location: where you live. The same for posting pics with license plate numbers.
An unscrupulous individual could also do the same when your car is parked at a restaurant... The problem with that person is that they are a lot closer to access your car than someone in say, California. The way I see it my car is seen everywhere I go, and the plates are visible to everyone that sees my car.... There are many ways to find out where one lives, and the easiest are very low tech... Just MO...
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Old Feb 26, 2004 | 08:47 PM
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Default Re: Paranoia? Public VIN Disclosure (NorthVette)

I don't post the vin of my 68 corvette on the internet for the following reason. (This is a mix of paranoia and being realistic).

I do not know the full history of my vette. Although I have no reason to suspect it was stolen in the past...... what if it was? The car is 36 years old. The last thing I want is a letter from someone telling me they owned the car in 1982 and it was stolen from them. When you post your vin on the internet it suddenly becomes easily available to millions of people. That is very different from someone walking by your car at a show and jotting down the vin. That can happen also, but the internet exposes you to a much wider audience. :( MJ
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Old Feb 26, 2004 | 08:57 PM
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Default Re: Paranoia? Public VIN Disclosure (MNJack)

A very good point, but your vin can also be discovered (depending on jurisdiction) with just the marker #... And that is hardly what I consider guarded information...

Again, this is merely one man's opinion, and you know what they say about those! :lol:

As a side note, there is a CPIC (Canadain Police Information Center) web site that lets you type in your VIN or your lic. # to check to see if it was/ is stolen, I wonder if there is a similar database with NCIC?


[Modified by NorthVette, 7:01 PM 2/26/2004]
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Old Feb 27, 2004 | 03:54 AM
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Default Re: Paranoia? Public VIN Disclosure (NorthVette)

Now days, with the internet, there are so many ways to find someone or something, I don't think your going to do much good by hiding your plate number in your pictures.
Posting your VIN, or plate number in text is a little different. But just to add to your paranoia, you would be amazed at what can be found just by tracing your IP address to the posts you make on here....

And like was said above, just a search on your past posts will reveal photos of your house, almost enough info about where you store your 67 during the winter, and which shows you go to during the summer to find your Vette in person.

:seeya
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Old Feb 27, 2004 | 05:00 AM
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Default Re: Paranoia? Public VIN Disclosure (Desertdawg)

You gotta teach me that trick Desertdawg. :yesnod:
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Old Feb 27, 2004 | 09:08 AM
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Default Re: Paranoia? Public VIN Disclosure (Desertdawg)

You are correct! It's difficult to hide these days. Along the lines of the EBay business of someone taking over your account is the identity theft problem. I had a brush with that in Atlantic City last August when someone took over my VISA account. Took four months to sort that one out!
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