M14 Forum

BagemTagem · June 18th, 2011, 12:47 AM

now before i posted my first picture of my rifle(no close ups yet, part laziness part need to clean the rifle) i read alot on these forums and noticed that most of yall cover/hide/omit parts of the s/n on your rifles.

there must have been a reason. so when i was informed by Springfield Armory about the history of my rifle i posted it up on Different's 000001-100000 SA thread i omitted numbers as well.

so why was it important that i do that?

Metonymy · June 18th, 2011, 12:50 AM

I'd guess it's mainly a privacy thing, not to mention the potential for something bad to happen ("Oh, I had rifle SN #1234567 stolen!")

Last thing you need is for someone to say your hard earned rifle was stolen and then all kinds of craziness to ensure. It can get tricky to prove an ownership trail, especially if it was a person-to-person sale with no FFL involved.

I may be over-thinking it, but that's my .02 on it.

DragonGunner · June 18th, 2011, 04:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Metonymy

I'd guess it's mainly a privacy thing, not to mention the potential for something bad to happen ("Oh, I had rifle SN #1234567 stolen!")

Last thing you need is for someone to say your hard earned rifle was stolen and then all kinds of craziness to ensure. It can get tricky to prove an ownership trail, especially if it was a person-to-person sale with no FFL involved.

I may be over-thinking it, but that's my .02 on it.

I see this question come up all the time.....the "I had that s/n rifle stolin...." is a myth. If some one did that they would have criminal charges brought against them, because they would have to prove it was theirs, an then would of already reported it, that dog just ain't going to hunt with LEO's.....unless of course you your afraid to post the s/n because it was stolin....so if you have a stolin gun...probably not a good ideal.

Paliden · June 18th, 2011, 05:32 AM

There are certian public records if you know where to look and you can pull up firearm transfers. So a smart crook can do some home work and find out where you live. In todays world of identy thief on line you need to protect yourself any way you can.
You can also copy that serial number and google it and see if it shows up anywhere else on the internet. The net is VERY public!! Have you ever put your home address on Google Earth and see what comes up? A picture of YOUR house. You can see around your yard.

Please be careful on line.

TexIndian · June 18th, 2011, 07:21 AM

I've seen the same thing in other areas - cameras, cars, etc. I've never had a good grasp on the whys.

lefty o · June 18th, 2011, 08:50 AM

Paranoia!

NoExpert · June 18th, 2011, 09:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lefty o

Paranoia!

Nobody's getting my damn serial number, not even while I shower! And this cookie is delicious...

DukeRustfield · June 18th, 2011, 04:04 PM

I never understood that myself. But some people enjoy tinfoil hats.

But to scare you more, you're here. On a web forum. If you're posting, they can reverse-lookup a fair number of details about you in terms of location. And unless this is the only place on the web you ever go to or ever purchased from, there's likely a whole slew of info. Unless for every site you use a completely different login name and credentials and route all your browsing through a roving ship based in the Cayman Islands.

Like, not to be a meanie, but the guy above who said to be careful, put down:

Biography
Came from a strong military background, father 20 years Army Mother 6 years Army
Location
Dinwiddie, VA
Branch of Service
USMC 70/71

A quick search also found a facebook account "Paliden USMC" which may or may not be his:
http://www.facebook.com/people/Palad...00000667895875

This all took 30 seconds by a non-professional hacker. If people want to find you they can find you, and your guns, unless you completely remove yourself from the grid, which if you're here, you're not.

BagemTagem · June 18th, 2011, 06:34 PM

all very useful, insightful information

charlesPOSTLEwade · June 19th, 2011, 01:20 PM

I agree with "Paranoia"
The Stolen Gun thing is a new one to me.
Me Myself is/are Paranoid
A lot of my of my Firearms are purchased Face to Face. Therefore all records are kept between me and the seller and is on no "List".As like most people the Seller will not keep the information forever or long.As it would be if you go through a Dealer.
If I am to show the Serial #'s on the Web then it would be known I own this and that.
That being said I have an In to make sure they are not stolen
before the purchase is finalized
That is my excuse

bd111 · June 19th, 2011, 01:41 PM

I don't know whether it's paranoia or vigilance. But I keep the firearms I own for a reason. I keep the SS# I was assigned at age 14 or so private for a reason. I don't do taxes or any commercial business or banking online for a reason. The reason in each case is there are more hackers, scamsters, data miners/scrapers/bots than there are cops who have the slightest idea what the unscrupulous are up to.

FWIW, I don't have a "facebook" or a "myspace" or web site or an i-phone or advertise my business or indulge in x-rated communications on the internet, either. Choose your Weiner.

John Coleman · June 20th, 2011, 04:41 AM

Often serialized items are reported as stolen. Many people don't always get the serial numbers right when they report something stolen or just make up a number to fill in the blanks while filing an insurance claim. The other thing some people might have a receipt with a serial number of an item they previous owned and may try to claim it, especially it was lent or sold to a friend that never made full payment. Then there's whole divorce thing or family member / brother or handed down item. Somebody's father left a Winchester serial number XXXX to the eldest son but the mother or younger son sold it. Who does it belong to now?

Orlando · June 20th, 2011, 05:55 AM

Pure paranoia.
Think about it, do non FFL sellers at Gun Shows cover the serial numbers? If this were "really" a issue you would hear stories daily about it as complete serial numbers are posted on the net everywhere. I have never once heard of a documented case

powmia56 · June 20th, 2011, 06:30 AM

It may be paranoia, but I think it is justifiable paranoia. Here's my feelings on the matter.

1) We already know there are elements in this country and this world that don't think we should own firearms.

2) We know that historically there are elements of society who will try to take away our firearms.

3) We know that gun registration is a tool used to take firearms from the law abiding.

4) Posting the serial numbers of your firearms on the internet while fighting against gun registration is self defeating. They now have a record of what firearms you own. What's the difference whether they record the SN when you buy it or copy it off a picture you posted?

I know that there are all sorts of arguments about whether this serves any purpose or not, but it doesn't hurt anyone either so why resort to referring to them as "tinfoil hatters" or other denigrating terms.

PS Great picture NoExpert. That is hysterical.

NoExpert · June 20th, 2011, 08:16 AM

I don't block out my serial number, but I usually try not to photograph it to begin with. Of all my pics I think I have two that clearly show the serial number and they aren't pics I post a whole lot.

Here's a theory... We're on a gun forum right? Would it be a safe bet that the majority of us own guns? So in essence "they" can just track "us" down with our IP's and under the assumption we have guns come to our houses.

That's mostly directed at the government, since I don't imagine some criminal is going to go through that effort to go break into someone's house knowing before hand they're armed. Criminals usually like the easy route. That's why they're criminals right? Like I said, it's a theory.

By the way, just taking a picture and saying "my rifle" pretty much says you own a gun. I don't think someone coming to take it away will care too much about the serial number on it. Again, a theory.