Many of those who at least once in their lives sold a car with the help of ads, whether in a newspaper or via the Internet, diligently painted over the license plate of their "iron horse" on photographs. In recent years, this has become almost an obligatory ritual of the seller. Still, only a few can clearly explain why they do it. And really - why? Are you interested? So the editors of InfoCar.ua became interested.

Obvious-incredible

Having interviewed sellers and studied discussions on painting over numbers on various forums, we have selected a whole collection of assumptions, conjectures, and considerations. One of the most popular explanations for the desire to hide the number in the photo was this: "Everyone paints over, and I will paint over." In psychology, such a position is called nothing more than "herd instinct," no matter how rude it may sound. People of all races, nationalities, and ages are guided by it (instinct) in various situations, which has not been surprising for a long time.

Among the most unusual and inexplicable options, we attributed the following: "I heard that taking pictures of a car with a number is a bad omen." This idea hardly needs comments, just as many similar ones do not need to be quoted, which makes no sense to quote.

Rational grain

And yet, among those who paint over license plates in car photos, there are people with a balanced and conscious position. Most often, they are afraid of scammers. They have every reason to do so because it is no secret that, with a strong desire, you can find out, if not everything, then a lot about the owner of the vehicle by license plate number. For example, full name, date of birth, registration address, passport series and number, car unit numbers, etc. All this information is stored in the traffic police databases. Unfortunately, these bases are stolen from time to time, after which it is easy to acquire them on the pirate disc markets.

There are many options for using personal information in criminal acts. Some are afraid of robbery "on a tip," others are afraid that after the sale of the car, criminals will come to them, threaten and directly extort money, others are horrified that they can be set up when committing a crime, and so on and so on ...

There are also more prosaic motives. For example, the number in the photo is painted over when they do not want relatives, friends, or creditors to know about the upcoming sale of the car. Well, and, of course, we cannot ignore the ubiquitous intermediaries. It is extremely unprofitable for them to demonstrate the car's license plate being sold right and left simply because a potential buyer can go directly to the owner through it. Then the intermediary will be left without his earnings.

There is nothing terrible and criminal in painting over car numbers in the photographs. Everyone has the right to privacy to remove car history and uses it at their discretion. If you want to paint over or don't want to, don't do it.

If you are a seller, remember that a license plate for a scammer is far from the only and not the easiest way to get the necessary information about you. If you are a buyer, then treat understanding the seller's fears. Only your attentiveness will help you avoid deception by unscrupulous sellers. Do not hesitate to ask questions, entrust the inspection of the car to a specialist, and carefully check the "cleanliness" of the documents.