Why blank out numberplates?

MWHCVT

MWHCVT

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This is something that myself and a fellow photographer have been discussing recently, why do most photographers blank out the number plates on vehicles they have photographed.

I do it myself but honestly I don't know why, I have always treated it as a kind of etiquette type of deal/nearly everyone else blanks them out

So anyone have any ideas why or theories??

Matt
MWHCVT
 
Because people could see that license plate, and use the number on their own car, effectively cloning the car, and you get in trouble.
 
alastairb said:
because people are paranoid of that.

not that you could just go outside to a road or anything to find a number plate.....
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And yet it's much easier to search the internet for cars specific to your model.
 
there is no reason to do so - I never did.



MWHCVT said:
This is something that myself and a fellow photographer have been discussing recently, why do most photographers blank out the number plates on vehicles they have photographed.

I do it myself but honestly I don't know why, I have always treated it as a kind of etiquette type of deal/nearly everyone else blanks them out

So anyone have any ideas why or theories??

Matt
MWHCVT
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Pieface said:
And yet it's much easier to search the internet for cars specific to your model.
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But it isn't illegal to publish photos of cars with their number plates visible so the photographer wouldn't get into trouble. And let's face it, it wouldn't take someone very long to have a wander round a car park in order to find the correct model for number plate cloning.
 
nope - only reason I suppose that celebs have it done to their cars is to protect their privacy

fabs said:
But it isn't illegal to publish photos of cars with their number plates visible so the photographer wouldn't get into trouble. And let's face it, it wouldn't take someone very long to have a wander round a car park in order to find the correct model for number plate cloning.
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fabs said:
But it isn't illegal to publish photos of cars with their number plates visible so the photographer wouldn't get into trouble. And let's face it, it wouldn't take someone very long to have a wander round a car park in order to find the correct model for number plate cloning.
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I never said it was illegal.. It's a common courtesy.
 
I think it's a good idea to minimise any personal data (yours or someone else's) you put out whether it's usable on its own or not. If you drop little bits all over the place there's bound to be something linking them together like a user name or e-mail address and then someone can put it all together.

And I think it looks better to have a blank plate, if you have text in an image people immediately try to read it which is distracting from everything else. It does need to be blank though, not swirled or blurred as that's worse. I'd make an exception if the identity of the car is important like with competitor's cars in motorsport.
 
It looks like I have taken the lid off a can of worms that really didn't need opening ;) but I can understand the privacy aspect, and I have heard in the past from a friend as JLR that they use false plates on advertising as when they sell the car on they like it to remain anonymous, but don't know how much truth there is in that

But I don't get the anti cloning measure as as has been said all you need to do is head to your local carpark any you will likely find a matching car

Thanks for the replies so far

Matt
 
Gareth S said:
I read that as in get into trouble with the car owner, if they can prove that by not blanking out their plate led to it being cloned, not being illegal
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How likely is it that the car owner would even know that the photo was on the internet, let alone that the photo was the source of the cloning?
 
fabs said:
How likely is it that the car owner would even know that the photo was on the internet, let alone that the photo was the source of the cloning?
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Well, if your car has just had a photoshoot, and then you notice fines coming through, you'd put 2 and 2 together.
 
Pieface said:
Well, if your car has just had a photoshoot, and then you notice fines coming through, you'd put 2 and 2 together.
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Possibly, but it's a risk you should be aware of from the start, in which case you can always request that the photographer blanks out the plate if it's going on the web.
 
There are good sound reasons for cloning out number plates. Leaving the plate visible makes the owner that much more traceable to someone who may have very ulterior motives. You wouldn't publish a person's phone number on the internet or their address, - why publish their reg'd no?

Travelling criminals will often travel a long way to commit serious crimes - Manchester to B'ham and vice versa is very commonplace due the convenience of the motorway. They'll often use a stolen car and make several recce trips in the planning of the job. While in the area they'll look for a car of identical make and colour and clone that plate to the stolen vehicle. This obviously makes the stolen vehicle much less of a risk to continue driving. It also has the advantage that if any nosey cop chooses to do a vehicle check, it will be less suspicious if the vehicle is registered locally - especially late at night or in the early hours when these criminals are often active.

On a board like this - showing your number plate together with your location is just making things too easy for them, so why do it? It's hardly a big job to conceal it.
 
yet you read car magazines with much wider appeal to those who may have ulterior motives yet I very rarely see number plates blanked out on them,


its not something id ever bother with tbh
 
It used to be a security thing as the car is very traceble by the number plate, like CT said someone in manchester spotting a car registered in birmingham etc etc.

You can get alot of details from a car reg about the owner, normally and I mean this in the loosest terms, if you have a nice car (ferrari lambo even just a really nice merc etc) you Normally (loosely again) have a nice home with lots of nice toys to steal.

Just my thoughts (and ones from known theifs)

spike
 
whitewash said:
yet you read car magazines with much wider appeal to those who may have ulterior motives yet I very rarely see number plates blanked out on them,


its not something id ever bother with tbh
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Well a lot of that is just sheer thoughtlessness. I wouldn't dream of photographing a mates car (for example) and publishing his reg'd no on the web. You under- estimate the number of evil ****ers out there and the lengths they'll go to .

It's no big deal to clone them out - in fact I'd make a big argument in favour of it being a board requirement here.
 
I just don't see the issue. Yep, criminal scum will take any advantage given to them, but drive anywhere and you can see a million and one cars with their plates on show for you to record, especially those parked on the owner's driveway so you now have the house number.
 
I think what is meant here is this- lets say you want to clone a blue Ford Focus 1.6 S.
Do you walk around the streets for hours on end hoping to stumble across one or do you look in the classifieds etc and find a pic of one with the plate showing?

Dont for forget its possible to get the keepers address details from the DVLA for a couple of quid, so if you wanted to go and nick one you could get the plate from the ad then obtain the address and go have it away.
 
I think the point is is why make it easier for thieves than is necessary?
 
you can get a persons home address from his/her number plate, so if any of you for example put your car up on here then i not only know where you live, but chances are i will also know more about you from reading posts, when you are on holiday, work, going for example. Would you post your home address in a thread?
 
you can get home address from webpages and it don't cost you or say why you need it. if criminals want a car they will get it no matter if you see a picture on the web or not. if youdon't want the number plate seen don;t take the car out in public.

DannyDMR said:
you can get a persons home address from his/her number plate, so if any of you for example put your car up on here then i not only know where you live, but chances are i will also know more about you from reading posts, when you are on holiday, work, going for example. Would you post your home address in a thread?
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DannyDMR said:
you can get a persons home address from his/her number plate, so if any of you for example put your car up on here then i not only know where you live, but chances are i will also know more about you from reading posts, when you are on holiday, work, going for example. Would you post your home address in a thread?
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:thumbs:
 
I don't clone mine out but I have removed it before a shoot, just because I think it looks better with cleaner lines. I've been in three magazine shoots and none had the number plates obscurred.
As for cloning my plate onto an identical vehicle, I think there's less than 10 in my colour combination. As for finding my personal details, as I use the same personality everywhere its easy to find me anyway as I've websites listed with my home address..
 
POAH said:
you can get home address from webpages and it don't cost you or say why you need it. if criminals want a car they will get it no matter if you see a picture on the web or not. if youdon't want the number plate seen don;t take the car out in public.
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not just about the car, i also know what kinda photographic equipment most people have on here and how much it costs :)
 
POAH said:
if criminals want a car they will get it no matter
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Do you lock the doors of your home when you go out/go to bed? If someone wants to get into your house they'll knock the door/a window through so by your logic you might aswell leave your doors and windows open at all times.
 
not all the time cause I forget but I do have a little puppy at home lol

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however number plates are not the same as leaving your doors unlocked

and yes if someone wanted to get in my house they could use a ladder and smash a window.

DazJW said:
Do you lock the doors of your home when you go out/go to bed? If someone wants to get into your house they'll knock the door/a window through so by your logic you might aswell leave your doors and windows open at all times.
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I do it with my car, but that is because i have several £k of audio system. I'll also do it with anyone else's car who i know is similar, but that's it.
 
POAH said:
what has that got to do with a car :shrug:
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...it hasn't. What they're inferring is that you're helping create a digital footprint which can lead to other areas of your life which you post online, i.e. the fact that most people on here have the type of Camera listed that they use. It's quite easy to trace someone based on very limited amounts of information.

That said, I've never blanked out number plates. I'd like to see some substantial proof that cars etc have been stolen as a result of images of them being posted online, otherwise I'm keeping the viewpoint that it's essentially futile scare-mongering.
 
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