Went to a local Saturday drive in car show deal. Parked the Z and walked around looking at other cars. Across the way I seen a teenage girl snap a pic of the VIN on the dash and nothing else. She was with a middle aged couple. Later on I see the three of them again at the back of the car and the middle aged woman and the teen girl snapped pics of my license plate and nothing else. Is this something to worry about? I know it's public info but felt really wierd. Steal it, claim I hit them in the car, do some title shenanigans?

 

Well, in theory they can use your VIN to get a duplicate key, then use you plate number to get your address…..then at some point take your car….all this is in theory

 

Isn't your address private? I don't think you can legally get someone's address from their license plate. that would be a HUGE safety issue, especially in road rage incidents.

 

DMV has all that, and more...one of them may work there...

Might want to slip a business card over your VIN under the windshield, to avoid this in the future....blank side up.

 

If it were me I would have gotten pics of them and followed them to see what car they came in to get a pic of their license plate. That way if they did end up stealing the car, you have something to give to the police.

Until then, get a throttle controller with the kill switch ability and stay strapped. Them getting pics of just those things is fishy as hell. They're up to something.

 

It does sound fishy but couldn't anyone do that anytime, anywhere you park the car?

 

Literally i would have done same.

 

this

 

Why not politely ask them what they were doing?

 

 

I lost interest in car shows long ago and lately have no desire to go to any car meets either to avoid all the bs.

 

Using VIN and duplicating the key is happening more frequently. It is normally car theft rings/groups that are using this method. They get the VIN and purchase a duplicate key fob via black market. It can take a couple weeks for them to get the key FOB. During the wait, they obtain the address, via black market, scout the location to plan the theft of the car. Most cars stolen in the US end up in a shipping container headed OCONUS. As mentioned above, the soler performance module has a kill switch capability so the car won't start. I have it installed on my car and I also cover my VIN.

Also consider using a Faraday pouch to store your keys when your car is parked at home or when you are out and about, for instance at a restaurant, movie, car show etc.... Thieves, working in pairs, can steal your car by having one individual stand near you and transmit your FOB signal to the other person near your car with a receiver to open and start your car. This happened to a friend of mine. While he and his wife were eating at a restaurant in Virginia. His Ferrari was stolen. The faraday pouch blocks the signal on your FOB so it can't be transmitted.

Bottom line with more introduction of technology in cars, it is making it easier for car theives.

 

Is this like a weekly cruise night or one time only? If weekly go back and see if you can spot these people again and I would ask them why they were taking a picture of your VIN. It would also put them on notice you know something is up.

 

Uh-oh.

Did you happen to notice if they rolled up in a black Suburban?

 

WAIT, you mean we can do that?? I think communication skills have deteriorated sooooo much in this country, but that is a whole other topic.

 

Time to buy a “club”.

 

Spot on....I'll cover my VIN going forward as I frequent cars and coffee meets.

 

you’re incorrect. The address from a plate is pretty simple, the advice stated was accurate, in theory. The pic of the vin most concerning.

I don’t use my home address on any vehicle registrations in over 30 years.

 

This guy says the VIN can be reprogrammed via the OBD-II port. I imagine entering your original VIN could be part of the VIN overwriting procedure. Then the thieves wouldn't have to wait for new keys as they'd already have keys for the reprogrammed VIN. The video is actually about an OBD-II port lock which I happened to buy and install as a theft-deterrent.

 

Don’t want to derail the main topic of the thread, but I did want to clear up a small piece of misinformation so nobody ends up with the wrong expectations about the product.

The Soler Performance Bluetooth throttle controller is not a kill switch and it does not prevent the vehicle from starting.

What it does is remove throttle input. So the car will still start and it can still be put into gear, but it will essentially just sit at idle with no response from the accelerator pedal.

It is more accurately a theft deterrent that can slow someone down or make the vehicle harder to drive off with quickly. It works best when used alongside other security measures, but it is important to remember that nothing is ever truly theft proof if someone is determined enough.

The idea is simply to add another layer of protection that may discourage or delay a potential thief and hopefully make them move on.

-Tiffany