Revealing a Serial number
- Thread starter WVfishguy
- Start date
REGISTRATIONWhen I got my security clearance in the Army, I learned quickly that security wasn't as much about who could be trusted, but whether a person had a "need to know".
That stuck with me the rest of my life and I often think of that when I'm asked to give information in normal conversations that simply isn't "needed" to know by other people.
For example, there are still some people on the Internet who freely use their real name and give enough personal information about themselves online that would allow them to be identified as to exactly who they are.
I think that's foolish, not because I'm afraid of the things that could happen as a result of exposing one's identity on the web, but simply because there is no reason that the entire world has a "need" to know exactly who I am.
You may not think that you are giving out enough information to identify yourself, but it's possible for people to take largely disparate pieces of information and run them through searches to find out even more information about you.
So I would refrain from publishing serial numbers of your guns for no other reason than that the rest of the world simply has no need to know.
That stuck with me the rest of my life and I often think of that when I'm asked to give information in normal conversations that simply isn't "needed" to know by other people.
For example, there are still some people on the Internet who freely use their real name and give enough personal information about themselves online that would allow them to be identified as to exactly who they are.
I think that's foolish, not because I'm afraid of the things that could happen as a result of exposing one's identity on the web, but simply because there is no reason that the entire world has a "need" to know exactly who I am.
You may not think that you are giving out enough information to identify yourself, but it's possible for people to take largely disparate pieces of information and run them through searches to find out even more information about you.
So I would refrain from publishing serial numbers of your guns for no other reason than that the rest of the world simply has no need to know.
Sturmgewehre
New member
That would be a bit retarded. Claiming someone stole an item with a clear paper trail of ownership would make that person criminally liable for making a false police report.
Here's a good "for instance".
Suppose a site-visitor owned a nice gun -- an older Colt Python -- that was stolen in the last...oh, 3-6 months. The burglary was reported, but he didn't have the serial number. Then, lo and behold, Mark B. posts a photo of a Python he says he picked up in '75 from a neighbor when he lived in another state. Our unscrupulous site-visitor copies down the serial number and then provides that to the police as his own. He waits a month or two and then calls the police because he "happened" to stumble across the photo of "his" gun on the internet.
Now you have some selfish, dishonest jerkwad getting the police involved in tracking down the person. That might involve TFL having to provide data and certainly the guy's email provider will have to do that. Then some poor TFL member is watching the Saturday college hoops when cops show up at his door asking to see his "stolen" Python serial number 123456 ... it gets uglier from there.
This is one reason I usually mask or blur the s/n on photos of my guns. Masking is a bit more certain. And I have receipts for all of my firearms too. Should someone attempt such a scam on me, I'd certainly press charges in response, once I showed my receipt to the PD. After that, I'd sue his butt big time.
Suppose a site-visitor owned a nice gun -- an older Colt Python -- that was stolen in the last...oh, 3-6 months. The burglary was reported, but he didn't have the serial number. Then, lo and behold, Mark B. posts a photo of a Python he says he picked up in '75 from a neighbor when he lived in another state. Our unscrupulous site-visitor copies down the serial number and then provides that to the police as his own. He waits a month or two and then calls the police because he "happened" to stumble across the photo of "his" gun on the internet.
Now you have some selfish, dishonest jerkwad getting the police involved in tracking down the person. That might involve TFL having to provide data and certainly the guy's email provider will have to do that. Then some poor TFL member is watching the Saturday college hoops when cops show up at his door asking to see his "stolen" Python serial number 123456 ... it gets uglier from there.
This is one reason I usually mask or blur the s/n on photos of my guns. Masking is a bit more certain. And I have receipts for all of my firearms too. Should someone attempt such a scam on me, I'd certainly press charges in response, once I showed my receipt to the PD. After that, I'd sue his butt big time.
BILLCA gives a much more sophisticated illustration than I could. Also if someone with a stolen gun somehow were to replace their serial # with yours, their stolen gun would simply not show up on any police database. Cops would run it, get nothing, and give it back to the bad guy.
Playboypenguin
Moderator
Had something similar happen with a tiller of all things once...granted it was a $3000.00 tiller. In very unlikely cases like this, the old term "possession being 9/10th of the law" comes into play. The person that used your serial number would most likely end up in prison for filing a false police report.
Why is it a bad idea to reveal your Social Security Number? Because some dishonest individual could very easily make your life hell if they wanted to.
Charging them with filing a false police report? Easier said than done, depends on how much the police want to bother with it. If it turns into a "You say/he say" event, even if they loose, which they probably would, it's doubtful they will face any repercussions.
Suing/charging someone for filing a false police report/defamation/etc is like your seatbelt. A last resort that you really don't want to use. So you take steps to make sure you don't need it, even though you have it. An Ounce of prevention is worth a Pound of cure.
Thus I don't post complete the S/N of any of my stuff.
Posting your full serial number and /or your real name is just plain foolish at best. I found out years ago that you could call someone on the phone and get their life's story, but go to their door and they wouldn't tell you anything. A lot of people are just plain stupid about giving out information about themselves. I get calls on the phone wanting personal information at times, I tell them to send me a letter on their letterhead before I give out ANY information about me. Paranoid?? maybe a little any more.