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Cloned bike issue

Just a quick warning. I recently advertised a modern Triumph on ebay without masking my number plate. (fail) The police have visited me in person and a further phonecall from the Met reveals that a bloke riding a similar bike to mine with a copy of my number plate stole a tank of fuel from a filling station in Brent. As I live 160 miles away, dont wear tracky bottoms when riding, or look like I'm 20, I'm in the clear.

I'm sure the ANPR will cause me some grief in the weeks to come.

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Previously david_evans wrote:

Just a quick warning. I recently advertised a modern Triumph on ebay without masking my number plate. (fail) The police have visited me in person and a further phonecall from the Met reveals that a bloke riding a similar bike to mine with a copy of my number plate stole a tank of fuel from a filling station in Brent. As I live 160 miles away, dont wear tracky bottoms when riding, or look like I'm 20, I'm in the clear.

I'm sure the ANPR will cause me some grief in the weeks to come.

Thanks for that warning David. I had wondered why people obscured the number plates on e bay, but you have explained it.

There will be some toe rag spoiling life for decent people.

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Previously peter_stowe wrote:

Previously david_evans wrote:

Just a quick warning. I recently advertised a modern Triumph on ebay without masking my number plate. (fail) The police have visited me in person and a further phonecall from the Met reveals that a bloke riding a similar bike to mine with a copy of my number plate stole a tank of fuel from a filling station in Brent. As I live 160 miles away, dont wear tracky bottoms when riding, or look like I'm 20, I'm in the clear.

I'm sure the ANPR will cause me some grief in the weeks to come.

Thanks for that warning David. I had wondered why people obscured the number plates on e bay, but you have explained it.

There will be some toe rag spoiling life for decent people.

hello I have been telling you all before now to becareful out there there is some unscrewpulas scaliwags

out that will stop that nothing to get a quick quid or two, and they will not care if you end up paying the price , yours anna j

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A solution is to mask your number plate at all times.. especially when out on the road in public.Regarding Bike Data. I looked at a bike recently on ebay. Emailed the guy up who seemed very reluctive to hand over engine/frame numbers (as he commented about possible Fraudulent use of these). However the conversation was going nowhere fast unless he passed them on for me to run checks which I did.It turned out the engine was from another varient of the model than he had advertised so was not what I was looking for. When I responded with thanks but no thanks, he mentioned he thought it strange I was so keen to find out the bike info.. and then walk away... and he would notify the DVLA of my interest in the bike!!!

Considering this a bit paranoid and over the top... I kindly responded mentioning:1) That I was kind enough to contact him back saying thanks but his bike was not what I was after.. and if I was a crimm would I bother doing this?2) The bike in question was not as original as he advertised it as, and was not what I was after. End of story.

Needless to say I didnt hear any more about it... I can understand how easy it would be to fake vehicle parts and data..... but I felt he was being a bit paranoid with the whole bike data thing.. and needless to say its still for sale months later!

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Previously AJ Walker wrote:

A solution is to mask your number plate at all times.. especially when out on the road in public.Regarding Bike Data. I looked at a bike recently on ebay. Emailed the guy up who seemed very reluctive to hand over engine/frame numbers (as he commented about possible Fraudulent use of these). However the conversation was going nowhere fast unless he passed them on for me to run checks which I did.It turned out the engine was from another varient of the model than he had advertised so was not what I was looking for. When I responded with thanks but no thanks, he mentioned he thought it strange I was so keen to find out the bike info.. and then walk away... and he would notify the DVLA of my interest in the bike!!!

Considering this a bit paranoid and over the top... I kindly responded mentioning:1) That I was kind enough to contact him back saying thanks but his bike was not what I was after.. and if I was a crimm would I bother doing this?2) The bike in question was not as original as he advertised it as, and was not what I was after. End of story.

Needless to say I didnt hear any more about it... I can understand how easy it would be to fake vehicle parts and data..... but I felt he was being a bit paranoid with the whole bike data thing.. and needless to say its still for sale months later!

hello yes I seen this on ebay many times now, there just waiting for some numty to fall into the scam , thats why before buying any motorcycles do the reseach on them first , and do not get court out, by these scammers !! yours anna j

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Personally I think you are being a bit paranoid, your reg plate is visible every time you take it out or display it at a show. Have a look at auto trader, you have to show your reg number so purchasers can check the vehicle details. I wouldn't bid on a bike without doing a check beforehand and I'd the number for that.

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Previously Dan Field wrote:

Personally I think you are being a bit paranoid, your reg plate is visible every time you take it out or display it at a show. Have a look at auto trader, you have to show your reg number so purchasers can check the vehicle details. I wouldn't bid on a bike without doing a check beforehand and I'd the number for that.

Well Now Dan you be a bit Paranoid if you had your motorcycle cloned and someone else was doing wrong , and you got the blame for it all and ended up in court to face the music of someone elses missdoings now this would real upset you now ! you see where there coming from yes yours Anna J

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Vehicle cloning is quite common with cars, less so with bikes. When people want to defraud petrol stations, they usually want a lot more fuel than our diddly little tanks (Interstates excepted) hold. With classics, identity theft in more likely when thieves are trying to legitimise a stolen machine. It's a matter of finding a balance - a bit of paranoia may not be a bad thing. Just like locking your bike when leaving it for 10 mins.

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Previously anna jeannette Dixon

Well Now Dan you be a bit Paranoid if you had your motorcycle cloned and someone else was doing wrong , and you got the blame for it all and ended up in court to face the music of someone elses missdoings now this would real upset you now ! you see where there coming from yes yours Anna

Anna

You miss my point, I wouldn't buy a bike on eBay if I couldn't see the number plate to check it, I wouldn't be surprised if eBay rules tell you to show it. Auto trader does.

ive no problem with people being paranoid, but if they are then don't use eBay!

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Since the government, in their wisdom, have scrapped the display of tax disks, I would imagine cloning will become more common. Simply find a similar, legal, vehicle, copy the number plate, job done! Hey! No more worries about speed cameras, parking fines, or numberplate recognition! Just change the number every few months.

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It would help if they stopped the availability of number plates on likes of eBay without the need to show your v5

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Dan, do you really believe that the kind of "low life", engaged in these activities, would have a problem obtaining fake plates?

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Previously Dan Field wrote:

In my opinion it's like burglars, you can stop the opportunists but not the serious criminals.

Dan Oportunist are thieves just like the big boys in Serious Crime most of the time thay work in gangs and drop of thieves in a area over some 100 miles from there real home town but is all been planed well before hand, I have a number of friends thats been burgled in this way , there a lots of way of kicking your goods,

and Crime is On the Rise, I know this , I am in Security , So Please Take My advice Do Not Trust anyone you do not know or are not sure of, always Check them out, before they Check you out and its Gone in 60 seconds and when you out riding try to ride with some one you know, try Not to ride alone, and Always LOCK IT ! Be safe before it costs you alots ! Safe riding Yours Anna J Security Guard Howden country club

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Previously John Shorter wrote:

Dan, do you really believe that the kind of "low life", engaged in these activities, would have a problem obtaining fake plates?

Hello John and all members Now its Time to wake up To the Fact Crime is Big Business and No-one is safe Not even Me, But I take the best precations I can

you all need to get some training in Security for your home and your selfs and Family, and your Norton Motorcycle Most theft is planed down to the last details and most vintage and classic motorcycle that are Stolen are exported and Have a buyer waiting , if there is a market you can bet there be crime, Sweden and Danemark are going Cashless this meens al transaction will be electroic Via a Cash card like visa , the UK in some years to come will go the same way, then we have to up date our Security online, this threads are been read by millions

so be very aware of this , so take care out there , yours anna j

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Any low life who wants a new number is likely to do what they did to my Land Rover, nick both plates, not by unscrewing them but by braking them up in bits. This is outrside my house during the night in a busy are of Birmingham with a pub riound the corner. The copper said they then superglue them together, bit of double sided tape and bobs your uncle a whopping 75 litre Defender tank filled up and hop it, dump the bits at the next junction and no one thinks anything more as roundabouts and junctions usually have broken number plates in the dirt from slow speed shunts. Needless to say mine are now attached with M6 stainelss screws locknuts inside the car and loads of double sided tape, try that you bu**ers

Regards Gromit

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Another security issue has to do with posting iphone/digital camerapictures on forums. Many cameras have satnav location details embedded in their metadata. Take a photo of your precious bike/car from home and you've just told a tealeaf where it lives. You need to disable this feature on cameras/phones when posting images.

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Previously anna jeannette Dixon wrote

Dan Oportunist are thieves just like the big boys in Serious Crime most of the time thay work in gangs and drop of thieves in a area over some 100 miles from there real home town but is all been planed well before hand, I have a number of friends thats been burgled in this way , there a lots of way of kicking your goods,

and Crime is On the Rise, I know this , I am in Security , So Please Take My advice Do Not Trust anyone you do not know or are not sure of, always Check them out, before they Check you out and its Gone in 60 seconds and when you out riding try to ride with some one you know, try Not to ride alone, and Always LOCK IT ! Be safe before it costs you alots ! Safe riding Yours Anna J Security Guard Howden country club

Anna

while I agree with your warning, and I don't recommend anyone is complacent, but property crime is actually fallinghttp://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/crime-stats/crime-statistics/focus-on-property-crime--2013-14/sty-patterns-and-trends-in-property-crime.html

which can only be a good thing, but my point was that with "professional" theives they are unlikely to be put off by cameras, Mitcham locks and alarms, I have too many friends who have had bikes stolen from garages like fort knox, I had one friend who had 3 race bikes stolen through the roof, but you can stop the local scrotes or passing opportunitiist spotting a poorly defended garage and nicking your pride and joy and leaving it in a ditch up at the local common.

Dan

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Using someone else's registration number is not cloning. It is more like identity theft. Cloning would be using their engine and/or frame numbers.

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Previously Jonathan Soons wrote:

Using someone else's registration number is not cloning. It is more like identity theft. Cloning would be using their engine and/or frame numbers.

To do that you have apply for a V5 and if you don't have one to notify a "change" of ownership DVLA will always contact the current owner first, but the problem here was someone copying a reg plate and then getting caught speeding/ stealing petrol from a petrol station. Doesn't really matter what you call it!

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Previously Dan Field wrote:

Previously anna jeannette Dixon wrote

Dan Oportunist are thieves just like the big boys in Serious Crime most of the time thay work in gangs and drop of thieves in a area over some 100 miles from there real home town but is all been planed well before hand, I have a number of friends thats been burgled in this way , there a lots of way of kicking your goods,

and Crime is On the Rise, I know this , I am in Security , So Please Take My advice Do Not Trust anyone you do not know or are not sure of, always Check them out, before they Check you out and its Gone in 60 seconds and when you out riding try to ride with some one you know, try Not to ride alone, and Always LOCK IT ! Be safe before it costs you alots ! Safe riding Yours Anna J Security Guard Howden country club

Anna

while I agree with your warning, and I don't recommend anyone is complacent, but property crime is actually fallinghttp://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/crime-stats/crime-statistics/focus-on-property-crime--2013-14/sty-patterns-and-trends-in-property-crime.html

which can only be a good thing, but my point was that with "professional" theives they are unlikely to be put off by cameras, Mitcham locks and alarms, I have too many friends who have had bikes stolen from garages like fort knox, I had one friend who had 3 race bikes stolen through the roof, but you can stop the local scrotes or passing opportunitiist spotting a poorly defended garage and nicking your pride and joy and leaving it in a ditch up at the local common.

Dan

What like my Manxman was two years ago , I would of not seen it again if it was not for the Howden police knowing this Bike was mine, and there quick thinking save the night and my bike was back in my lock up within the hour, they had mashed though a side window and disloged the safty bars on the inside of the window and Broken the Thachams lock round the Bike, and kicked the doors out , to get the bike out , but they could not get in runiing has I have a safety Swich hinded that cuts the mag off, and some have do not know what there doing with old bikes like my one, he was founld pushing it a mile away and Arrested on the spot, but that night he also had broken into three other garages has well he is now doing time inside, for a number of thefts but this dose not stop the night mares ! of my pride and joy from being stolen ! the paint work was well scatched tank badge hanging on one screw, but not much damage, other than that , but the workshop was damaged the most, now you see why I would not like any member to have this happen too them, Yours Anna J

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Previously Dan Field wrote:

Agreed, So what's your answer?

the answer is to watch out for each other and be mindful of what your buying, at auto jumble sales , and having a online crime data NOC style , this time the old attiuted of Iam alright Jack ! This is Not the Way we members need to look after each other more just like a Norton Community and this will make for firm friendship up and down the country, more eyes sees if every one plays apart they will benefit too honisty its not dead yet and freinds are the best at making this happen with interaction with each other so every one watching every else is back for them happy riding and have fun in the sun when we get some ! Yours Anna J

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I don't know what you can do to stop the determined rogue, but one thing I would advise you don't do is what Anna has done in this thread, she has told the world that a lady named Anna Jeannett Dixon, from Howden in east Yorkshire, has a nice Norton Manxman in her garage. We should remember that most of what is written on this forum is visible to the world, I know of at least one case on a classic car forum I visit where a member nearly lost his pride & joy because an organised gang had been monitoring the forum to see who had what & where. He had inadvertantly let it be known over a number of posts that he kept his car in his garage, the viiliage where he lived & that he was going to a family wedding for the weekend. The forum in question doesn't publish your real name, you use a user name of your own invention, unlike here, so they didn't even have that info, but they were able to track down his address & paid a visit while he was at said wedding. Fortunately, an eagle eyed neighbour noticed something & knew no one should have been home so called the police. Two men were arrested & spilled the beans on the rest of the gang, so good result, but it could have ended very differently. Careless talk..............

Regards, Tim

 


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