F club cyber security

[tomRCFcarbon]

There was a post recently about number plates. One responder cautioned about sharing your number plate...which when I read it I thought was sensible, until I remembered that I and a lot of other people have posted photographs of our cars all over this forum, complete with number plates...which then got me paranoid about that. And then I got to thinking about geo-tags on photos...people talking about where they live to organise meet ups...and people encouraging users to plug their cars into diagnostic systems to see if they can be tuned (which is the only way to make a duplicate key). 

So for those more wise forum members, should I be paranoid? Should I delete my photos? Is it right to be cautious? And if so, what of and why?

[NemesisUK]

I don't feel there's much to worry about. Given how relatively rare the cars are there's not much chance of your number plate being used to ring a stolen car.

[Guest]

A cloned plate can make your life a bit hectic batting off speeding tickets and being pulled every time you make an ANPR beep.



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[Herbie]

Just think how many hundreds of people see your plate every day as you drive around. Even if someone does clone the plate you've got the original, not the clone, so you'll be alright.

Nothing to worry about.

[tomRCFcarbon]

48 minutes ago, Herbie said:

Just think how many hundreds of people see your plate every day as you drive around. Even if someone does clone the plate you've got the original, not the clone, so you'll be alright.

Nothing to worry about.

I completely agree, but worried there was something I wasn’t aware of. 

Have to say I draw the line at plugging my car into some unknown garages computer though. 

[Martin F]

15 minutes ago, tomRCFcarbon said:

Have to say I draw the line at plugging my car into some unknown garages computer though. 

Related to the request you are no doubt referring to ..... that garage is very well known in certain circles and have built their reputation up over many years, I cannot believe for one minute that they would wreck their reputation over some attempt to clone a key for a £40k car. 

Also from a technical perspective I can understand exactly what they were trying to do, if they can access the tuning tables in the ECU then they would know that they would be able to tune RCF-F's without any additional piggy back's or similar electronics. 

And one last point, even if they were able to clone a key in your presence, they would still need to know where you lived for it to be of any benefit to them.

 

[Bluesman]

The poster you are referring to now says he wasn't interested in knowing your number plate but had one for sale, sounds even more iffy to me.

The damage can be considerable if you get caught up in someone cloning your number plate. The legwork involved talking to various agencies trying to convince them its not you. They must hear that excuse a dozen times a day. Garages and the like are now becoming very aware of cars with reg plates on as they now cover them up. It's a minor thing to do but could save you an awful lot of heartache and trouble.

About 30 years ago I owned a Ford Granada Estate, lovely car, I won't put the reg number up here as it is still in use today. Police at my front door 11 pm asking if it was my car, I, of course, said yes and I was immediately arrested for the theft of a horse trailer. I went off with them and they checked the tow bar on my car which I had never used. It had a plastic cover and they tried to get this cap off but couldn't, they radioed for another copper to attend who they said would get the cap off. He arrived but could get it off.  So they dearrested me and asked me to attend their police headquarters the following day. This I did They asked me where was I the day before at 5.30am? I told them in bed with the wife they went out and asked her the same question. Eventually, they had to accept what I was telling them and let me go. They did some months later find the people who were using other peoples reg and thieving fortunes, speeding and parking tickets etc. I know our plates are always on display but they do for some reason like plates on cars being transported etc. 

[MNMJ]

8 hours ago, tomRCFcarbon said:

So for those more wise forum members, should I be paranoid? Should I delete my photos? Is it right to be cautious? And if so, what of and why?

I would say a healthy does of paranoia is sensible; I block out my number plates on pictures and do not geocode them. I also ensure there is nothing in the background that identifies my house. With the Faraday cage for the keys, movement sensor lights outside, a noisy gravel drive and an enthusiastic pair of dogs; I think I'm mostly covered.

[ISJason]

What about a foldable pole at the end of the drive. I was thinking of getting one.

 

 

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[MNMJ]

After Brexit, I think getting any sort of Pole for the end of the drive will be tough; so  a foldable one will be a real stretch

[gb1600e]

Im not worried about folk on the internet knowing my reg number from a photo or on here that its declared Im from Derbyshire but good luck to anyone who can work out where my ISF is parked from that.  And given there are only so few ISF per year, per colour Im not sure I should worry about someone cloning mine although I don't underestimate the pain it must be if it happens.  I do however worry about the amount of life some people detail on Facebook, including the likes of when they are not at home, out the country, on holiday etc when all their most valuable positions (their F Cars) are at home alone.  Just one of the reasons I'm not a Facebook fan. (I have many )

That aside I bet the rate at which of which F Cars are stolen is pretty low as compared to other "similar" performance cars?  Surely one of the best kept secrets amongst people who love cars not least those who steel them?   It would be sad to hear but anyone had an F car stolen?

Of course all sensible precautions taken and my 2 Faraday bags arrived from the amazon today.  I put my reaming trust in the Lexus security and the Cat 7 tracker to do the rest.  As for a bent pole....... no further comment.

 

[DAW]

Made sure I removed reg plate from all the photos I posted for a while only to find it turned up on a car spotting web site after a Bluewater meet. 🙄

Coincidence - I think not, but thankfully nothing untoward happened thereafter. 

[d3ron]

On 11/19/2018 at 11:28 PM, gb1600e said:

That aside I bet the rate at which of which F Cars are stolen is pretty low as compared to other "similar" performance cars?  Surely one of the best kept secrets amongst people who love cars not least those who steel them?   It would be sad to hear but anyone had an F car stolen?

Of course all sensible precautions taken and my 2 faraday bags arrived from the Amazon today.  I put my reaming trust in the Lexus security and the Cat 7 tracker to do the rest.  As for a bent pole....... no further comment.

 

I think a couple of gone, but if I remember correctly usually when they've been after something else parked on the drive.

I don't think there's a huge demand for Lexus parts, as it's usually associated with an older age group. Would probably be the same with Jaguar as well.

Faraday bags work like a charm.