OH Dear a dangerous oversight
Discussion
http://www.askmid.com/askmid.aspx
The above site enables you to check wether your vehicle is registered on the Motor Insurance Database.
However I believe this software shouldn't be available for public use.
I know wether my own cars are insured or not but consider this.
Car dealerships are preallocated registration numbers in blocks of expected usage.
You get to choose your reg number for your new car by picking off a list of unused numbers the dealer will tell you are available sometimes.
However this creates an easy way for someone to look for the reg number of an identical car to the one they own for the purpose of cloning plates.
For example..
You buy your car new
Its make is whatever
Its reg for arguments sake is AB 07 MBA
The AB denotes area , The 07 denotes year , ignore that...
but the last three letters denote individual vehicles.
in the above example say your car is a ford mondeo.
type in AB 07 MBB (the next consecutive reg number to your own) you might find it relates to a Ford Fiesta , ie another Ford sold by your dealership at the time you bought your car.
it only takes messing around for long enough with the last three letters to find an identical car to your own registered in the same month and of the same model and colour.
This website warns against trawling the numbers but that is not good enough protection.
I feel vunerable to being cloned.
Obviously I am in danger of being cloned every day I park in public but this somehow doesn't seem right.
The above site enables you to check wether your vehicle is registered on the Motor Insurance Database.
However I believe this software shouldn't be available for public use.
I know wether my own cars are insured or not but consider this.
Car dealerships are preallocated registration numbers in blocks of expected usage.
You get to choose your reg number for your new car by picking off a list of unused numbers the dealer will tell you are available sometimes.
However this creates an easy way for someone to look for the reg number of an identical car to the one they own for the purpose of cloning plates.
For example..
You buy your car new
Its make is whatever
Its reg for arguments sake is AB 07 MBA
The AB denotes area , The 07 denotes year , ignore that...
but the last three letters denote individual vehicles.
in the above example say your car is a ford mondeo.
type in AB 07 MBB (the next consecutive reg number to your own) you might find it relates to a Ford Fiesta , ie another Ford sold by your dealership at the time you bought your car.
it only takes messing around for long enough with the last three letters to find an identical car to your own registered in the same month and of the same model and colour.
This website warns against trawling the numbers but that is not good enough protection.
I feel vunerable to being cloned.
Obviously I am in danger of being cloned every day I park in public but this somehow doesn't seem right.
Fair enough, you make a good point, but to be honest I'd probably just take a quick drive if I wanted to clone a car because it wouldn't take so long and I could make sure that the colour etc matches.
The database doesn't list colour which could therefore not match.
Also your car doesn't have to be the same year, providing physically it looks the same eg. a black 2002 focus zetec 1.6, then it can be made to appear a black 2003 focus 1.6 zetec. The actual year and place of 1st registration are not important.
The database doesn't list colour which could therefore not match.
Also your car doesn't have to be the same year, providing physically it looks the same eg. a black 2002 focus zetec 1.6, then it can be made to appear a black 2003 focus 1.6 zetec. The actual year and place of 1st registration are not important.
TPS said:
All mine says is that it is on there.It does not mention car details in any way.
Are you saying that for some it brings up all the details ie make,model,spec and colour.
Some it just gives the make / model e.g. Ford KaAre you saying that for some it brings up all the details ie make,model,spec and colour.
Others it gives more detail (body type, engine capacity etc)
If they're saying "the user" may breach the data protection act by looking at details not relating to them, then Shirley the website breaches the DPA by providing them, knowing that people can easily do so?
mark69sheer said:
The above site enables you to check wether your vehicle is registered on the Motor Insurance Database.
However I believe this software shouldn't be available for public use.
However this creates an easy way for someone to look for the reg number of an identical car to the one they own for the purpose of cloning plates
This website warns against trawling the numbers but that is not good enough protection.
I feel vunerable to being cloned.
Could i also point out an easier way for your plate to be cloned..........A screwdriverHowever I believe this software shouldn't be available for public use.
However this creates an easy way for someone to look for the reg number of an identical car to the one they own for the purpose of cloning plates
This website warns against trawling the numbers but that is not good enough protection.
I feel vunerable to being cloned.
Take said screwdriver and remove your number plates from your car.
The thing is there are so many ways your car could be cloned that i dont really see much of an issue with this site.
To go back to the original point, the big danger for those cloning plates is that they may be pulled over in a random ANPR check because the car they cloned in uninsured. Now they can check this on-line and know that in an ANPR the cloned plate will come up clean, thus reducing the risk of being caught.
That's a big benefit for the cloners.
That's a big benefit for the cloners.
mark69sheer said:
http://www.askmid.com/askmid.aspx
The above site enables you to check wether your vehicle is registered on the Motor Insurance Database.
However I believe this software shouldn't be available for public use.
I know wether my own cars are insured or not but consider this.
Car dealerships are preallocated registration numbers in blocks of expected usage.
You get to choose your reg number for your new car by picking off a list of unused numbers the dealer will tell you are available sometimes.
However this creates an easy way for someone to look for the reg number of an identical car to the one they own for the purpose of cloning plates.
For example..
You buy your car new
Its make is whatever
Its reg for arguments sake is AB 07 MBA
The AB denotes area , The 07 denotes year , ignore that...
but the last three letters denote individual vehicles.
in the above example say your car is a ford mondeo.
type in AB 07 MBB (the next consecutive reg number to your own) you might find it relates to a Ford Fiesta , ie another Ford sold by your dealership at the time you bought your car.
it only takes messing around for long enough with the last three letters to find an identical car to your own registered in the same month and of the same model and colour.
This website warns against trawling the numbers but that is not good enough protection.
I feel vunerable to being cloned.
Obviously I am in danger of being cloned every day I park in public but this somehow doesn't seem right.
Couldn't yopu get the same result from walking around a car park.....? or am I missing something?The above site enables you to check wether your vehicle is registered on the Motor Insurance Database.
However I believe this software shouldn't be available for public use.
I know wether my own cars are insured or not but consider this.
Car dealerships are preallocated registration numbers in blocks of expected usage.
You get to choose your reg number for your new car by picking off a list of unused numbers the dealer will tell you are available sometimes.
However this creates an easy way for someone to look for the reg number of an identical car to the one they own for the purpose of cloning plates.
For example..
You buy your car new
Its make is whatever
Its reg for arguments sake is AB 07 MBA
The AB denotes area , The 07 denotes year , ignore that...
but the last three letters denote individual vehicles.
in the above example say your car is a ford mondeo.
type in AB 07 MBB (the next consecutive reg number to your own) you might find it relates to a Ford Fiesta , ie another Ford sold by your dealership at the time you bought your car.
it only takes messing around for long enough with the last three letters to find an identical car to your own registered in the same month and of the same model and colour.
This website warns against trawling the numbers but that is not good enough protection.
I feel vunerable to being cloned.
Obviously I am in danger of being cloned every day I park in public but this somehow doesn't seem right.
Crossreference them.I think its just another blatent disregard of the data protection rules by the government.
The disclaimer is a really feeble cop out. Not only that but technically and legally its incorrect.
I have signed the data protection act and I am registered with it.
The rules quite clearly state that I must keep any computer data safe from prying eyes and that my systems musn't allow access and that I have to keep my data secure.
I am warned that breaches wil be met with punative fines.
Fines of up to £50,000
and yet the govt plays fast and loose with all my data.????
double standards again.
The disclaimer is a really feeble cop out. Not only that but technically and legally its incorrect.
I have signed the data protection act and I am registered with it.
The rules quite clearly state that I must keep any computer data safe from prying eyes and that my systems musn't allow access and that I have to keep my data secure.
I am warned that breaches wil be met with punative fines.
Fines of up to £50,000
and yet the govt plays fast and loose with all my data.????
double standards again.
mark69sheer said:
I think its just another blatent disregard of the data protection rules by the government.
The data belongs to the Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB), not the government. The Police are given access to the data by MIB. I suggest you complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (http://www.ico.gov.uk/) if you have an issue with it. I suspect they would say that the site gives no information about you or your insurance, so is not a breach of data protection, though that's just a guess.Mines not insured according to this, but what makes it worse was last week some cocky regular at the local took great pleasure in informing me my TVR wasnt insured.
I felt like going home and getting the insurance documents
I did double check with the insurer the day after though, just to be on the safe side.
Put in my 280SL reg though, and it comes back as my Cerb and states it is insured.
I felt like going home and getting the insurance documents
I did double check with the insurer the day after though, just to be on the safe side.Put in my 280SL reg though, and it comes back as my Cerb and states it is insured.
Edited by C2HYM on Wednesday 28th November 21:58
Mr2Mike said:
C2HYM said:
Mines not insured according to this, but what makes it worse was last week some cocky regular at the local took great pleasure in informing me my TVR wasnt insured.
Exactly, the database has more holes than a swiss cheese, which makes it somewhat worse than useless.I hope not, or I shall be most upset with my insurance company - assuming it is their fault.
Coming back from my last Devon meet we were in a line of about 6 or 7 cars, and Mr plod pulled in behind each of us for 30 seconds or so then sped off on his merry way.
I'm presuming he was checking each of our cars and he just sailed past after a quick sniff of the exhausts so either the V70 wasnt fitted with the equipment to check or mines fine with them.
Coming back from my last Devon meet we were in a line of about 6 or 7 cars, and Mr plod pulled in behind each of us for 30 seconds or so then sped off on his merry way.
I'm presuming he was checking each of our cars and he just sailed past after a quick sniff of the exhausts so either the V70 wasnt fitted with the equipment to check or mines fine with them.
TPS said:
Could i also point out an easier way for your plate to be cloned..........A screwdriver.
Which is the argument put forward by the authorities for new-style, "non-stealable", numberplates ... completely ignoring the other, and more common, ways in which registration marks are cloned. When you couple this with the requirement to identify yourself as the RK (with an additional piece of evidence such as utility bill with matching name and address to the V5 in some cases - e.g. H4lf0rds) when purchasing a replacement numberplate, you can see how out of touch with the reality of crime our legislators are. Alternatively, you could consider that their interest is not in preventing car crime, but in creating jobs for bureaucrats, making our lives more wearying, and ensuring that ever more details are recorded about the scourge that is daily destroying the earth and murdering children ... the motorist! - StreakyGassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff