Yet Another Way to Steal...warning

[pcvjanova]

Thieves seem to have limitless imaginations when it comes to ways to steal from honest and unsuspecting people. Yesterday I was pulled over by a SRPD motor officer who asked to see the usual documents. I asked why I was stopped and he replied, "because it looks like your car hasn't been registered since before I joined the police force." Sure enough, the last registration tag on my license plate was from 2001!!!! Simply put, that means someone wanted the 2010 tag and in trying to remove it took 2002-2009 with it. The officer asked me when they were stolen and my response was, "sometime between last May when I put it on until right now." He suggested I keep a closer eye on my car which I suppose is a good idea but never in my wildest dreams would I have thought to keep an eye on my registration tags!!!! To add insult to injury it will cost me $18 to get replacement tags!!!

I am not sure how to best protect against this type of theft. Perhaps this type of activity will necessitate changes in the decades old system of simply sticking a new tag on every year. Tags applied inside the rear window? Or ???

Wondering when YOU last checked your registration tags.

[anon and-on]

This has happened to me in years past. I was told that after attaching the sticker to your license plate and making sure it is on tight, take a knife or razor blade and make a couple slashes in it... That way it would have to be removed in pieces and reassembled to be reused on another car. Good Luck.


Thieves seem to have limitless imaginations when it comes to ways to steal from honest and unsuspecting people. Yesterday I was pulled over by a SRPD motor officer who asked to see the usual documents. I asked why I was stopped and he replied, "because it looks like your car hasn't been registered since before I joined the police force." Sure enough, the last registration tag on my license plate was from 2001!!!! Simply put, that means someone wanted the 2010 tag and in trying to remove it took 2002-2009 with it. The officer asked me when they were stolen and my response was, "sometime between last May when I put it on until right now." He suggested I keep a closer eye on my car which I suppose is a good idea but never in my wildest dreams would I have thought to keep an eye on my registration tags!!!! To add insult to injury it will cost me $18 to get replacement tags!!!

I am not sure how to best protect against this type of theft. Perhaps this type of activity will necessitate changes in the decades old system of simply sticking a new tag on every year. Tags applied inside the rear window? Or ???

Wondering when YOU last checked your registration tags.

[alanora]

I do not remember where, however that is what I'd learned as well. A good scoring makes your tag undesirable. I have never looked to see if mine was still there though. Good idea.


This has happened to me in years past. I was told that after attaching the sticker to your license plate and making sure it is on tight, take a knife or razor blade and make a couple slashes in it... That way it would have to be removed in pieces and reassembled to be reused on another car. Good Luck.

[lifequest]

When I get the new tags I always scrape off the old ones and then attach the new ones - scoring it in a few places is good. It can't just be peeled off. Course sometimes they just remove the entire license plate..

[babaruss]

The best way to prevent the theft of the license plate tags is to scrape any accumulation of old tags off....stick on new tag...and then, using a sharp box knife or single edged razor blade make an x cut through the new tag. Once this is done it makes it much more difficult to steal.
Baba


Thieves seem to have limitless imaginations when it comes to ways to steal from honest and unsuspecting people. Yesterday I was pulled over by a SRPD motor officer who asked to see the usual documents. I asked why I was stopped and he replied, "because it looks like your car hasn't been registered since before I joined the police force." Sure enough, the last registration tag on my license plate was from 2001!!!! Simply put, that means someone wanted the 2010 tag and in trying to remove it took 2002-2009 with it. The officer asked me when they were stolen and my response was, "sometime between last May when I put it on until right now." He suggested I keep a closer eye on my car which I suppose is a good idea but never in my wildest dreams would I have thought to keep an eye on my registration tags!!!! To add insult to injury it will cost me $18 to get replacement tags!!!

I am not sure how to best protect against this type of theft. Perhaps this type of activity will necessitate changes in the decades old system of simply sticking a new tag on every year. Tags applied inside the rear window? Or ???

Wondering when YOU last checked your registration tags.

[edie]

Happened to me too- at Russian River Area, at my home over night. The officer mentioned that I should scratch alll of the old stickers off, clean the plate throughly, then its very hard to take one single one off the plate.... so far it works. E

[StormDancer]

The best way to PREVENT theft of your registration tags is to remove all old tags BEFORE appyling the new one. The more layers of tags on the plate, the easier it is to cleanly remove the one on top with a simple razor blade.
-AnnaLisa