Number Plate Theft

[malagabob]

It’s reported that over 500 instances of number plate theft occure everyweek. Since the introduction of and advancement or ANPR thefts have increased. Criminals use the stolen plates to steal petrol speeding and other crimes including burglary.

[Gizmonster]

........ which is why anti-theft screws were introduced, making it virtually impossible for your average criminal to remove them.
The thing is, these screws can be removed if you have the right tool ...... which the persistent criminals will no doubt get their grubby hands on :(

[bhg481]

The best protection is to make your bog-standard car unique eg, a sticker on the windscreen/bumper. It won't stop you being accused but it can prove your innocence.

[bhg481]

Giz - you mean these?

Amazon.co.uk User Recommendation

[Gizmonster]

Different screws will probably have different fittings.
Here's one from Halfords (you can see the black piece has 2 prongs), but in a set like the one in your link, there's a good chance that something will fit.
The thing is, a criminal wants to be done as quickly as possibly and not faffing around trying umpteen different attachments to see if any fit.

[Gizmonster]

Ooops forgot link to Halfords:

https://www.halfords.com/motoring/car-security/car-security/richbrook-anti-theft-number-plate-bolts

[ToraToraTora]

I don't understand, there are a squillion places that'll print any number you like for an Ayrton a pair so why does anyone need to half inch a number plate?

[bhg481]

I have one of those sets, Giz. I bought it about a decade ago after seeing it in a shop and thinking it might come in useful one day. The bits are all bog-standard bits with a small modification and it's easy to quickly identify which one is needed.

[bhg481]

Giz - now that you've supplied the link I can see that the screws are not the ones I was thinking of - my bits won't work on those.

[Old_Geezer]

Doesn't theft mean of the number rather than the physical plate ?

Ridiculous 'congestion' taxes probably fueled much of it. Pay for the roads every year, then pay a second time because we want to keep lower rates down by mugging you.

[Old_Geezer]

I might have a screwdriver for those Halford screws https://img1.cgtrader.com/items/148513/2f0d84c036/large/drill-bit-3d-model-ige-igs-iges-stp.jpg

[Togo]

As TTT says, most criminals do not nick your plates, they get them cloned. They choose a vehicle of the same make, model, and colour as the vehicle that they are using and have a replica pair made up at a dodgy backstreet set up or even have the gear themselves. That way the plates if scanned come up as legit but attributed to the rightful owner. If you had your actual plates stolen, and reported it to plod, he would be on the lookout for a vehicle bearing the plates. They also attempt to have the ID and details of the rightful owner in case they get pulled, in order to give roadside verbal confirmation that matches the plates.

[choux]

Giz, does that mean a ne'er-do-well has only to spend £5.99 to purchase the hex key for that specific set of locking screws? Not much of a deterrent it would seem.

[ToraToraTora]

togo, doesn't have to be dodgy, ebay has sellers, there is "plates for cars", you can design your own legal or not any number or you can have number plate style signs. eg:
https://www.platesforcars.co.uk/designer.php?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpfrQpeT73gIVLrvtCh2axwcIEAAYASAAEgK3BPD_BwE
all these places are legal. It is quite legal to make any number plate, you just have to declare that the are "Not for Road use" then it's up to the buyer to do what they want. If a tea leaf wants to clone a number it's simplicity itself.

[Togo]

Wouldn't disagree regarding the ease with which plates can be obtained TTT. But I would think that grown up criminals would not want to leave a payment trail or delivery address for dodgy plates and would be more likely to find cash in hand no questions asked sources. I am only really replying to the thread because this happened to a pal of mine a while back. If I am not mistaken, your motor is more likely to be chosen as a candidate if it is an ageing Beemer and black. My pal bought himself a very smart old BMW after changing jobs and losing his company car. He had a trip to Liverpool(no surprises here) and within weeks was inundated with motoring offence notifications, including speeding, bus lane offences, and parking tickets. Mare. Took him weeks and hours of phone calls and correspondence to sort it out and he sold the motor pretty sharpish.

[bhg481]

That's the reason I advocate making your car have a unique appearance - they provide photographic evidence it was your car; you provide evidence it wasn't.

[alavahalf]

A few years ago my manager phoned me and asked where I was.
My reply was ," underneath a sink in Worthing. She then asked me if I had my van at the job. I said I had. She then asked me to go outside and check...which I did. It was most definitely the van I used each day. It turns out that the police were phoning her enquiring about my van, as one marking it's description and with the same number plates has just been involved in a robbery in Essex.
You don't need to remove the number plates to steal the identity of a vehicle.

[Togo]

Haha. Were you hiding the dosh under a sink Alava?

[Old_Geezer]

Great alibi though. Lend your van for the robbery, have a ringer at the job site.

[Barmaid]

A former acquaintance of mine was sent an NIP for speeding down in Devon.

Thankfully he was able to prove that that number plate belonged to his tractor which was incapable of reaching the speed claimed and was several hundred miles away at the time.

[sunny-dave]

Good story BM - but those tractors can't half nip (ahem) along these days :)