Have you ever noticed that all you need is a screwdriver to remove the license plate from even the most expensive car? There is a very simple reason for this. The vehicle identification number (VIN) is registered in your name, too. Because of this mandatory, global registry, 60% of stolen vehicles are recovered.
The power of the VIN
Federal, state and county governments are required, by law, to keep track of vehicle identification numbers. A VIN is often the key to recovering stolen motor vehicles. A VIN is embedded and duplicated on the vehicle. Can you imagine buying a vehicle where the VIN was destroyed? Wouldn’t that make you suspicious?
The power of serial numbers
Serial numbers come in all shapes and sizes. A VIN is just a specialized serial number designed exclusively for motor vehicles. The VIN is recorded in central databases even before the car is manufactured. What about all of our other belongings that have serial numbers? Isn’t someone keeping track of those?
An asset tag is like a license plate
Don’t be fooled by the barcodes and RFID. Just like a license plate, the number on the asset tag is the key. High-tech strategies are designed for very large institutions with tens of thousands of items to track. Consumers typically have just a few items. Rather than being required by law to affix an asset tag to our other property and recording the serial numbers, the strategy is voluntary. It’s something the police wish people would do.
If we are a victim of a property crime
As mentioned, the VIN is recorded on a central database before we even take possession of a motor vehicle. So how do we get the serial numbers of stolen items to the police? We file a police report. When we do that, the police enter the serial numbers of our stolen items into the global databases of the National Crime Information Center (NCIC).
www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/ncic
Get in the habit
Just like we buckle our seatbelts and install smoke detectors, all of us should tag property and keep a record of the serial numbers. The police want us to take one additional step by placing warning signs on doors and windows as a deterrent. At MyPropertyID, we make the process as easy and simple as possible.