Any issues posting pics showing serial numbers?

[rem44m]

I'm curious if there is a reason to "black" out the serial number on any pictures posted to the internet? Is it bad if the wrong person got a hold of your serial number?

Sorry, might be kinda a dumb question but sometimes I see pics with the serial number edited out of the photo and wonder why.

 

[rcmodel]

Many many years ago, there was an incident where someone published a photo of a gun with the serial number visable in a magazine article.

Then someone else claimed it was his gun that had been stolen.
Of course, it really wasn't.

But the rightful owner had to jump through some legal hoops to prove he wasn't in possession of a stolen gun.

I remember reading several times in the gun mags back in the 60's it was a bad idea to show serial numbers in photo's in magazines for the above reason.

Other people just don't believe it is anyone else's business what the serial number of their gun is.

rc

 

[SaxonPig]

Can you document that incident? This is the first time anyone has suggested such a thing ever happened.

I do not fear revealing serials because anyone trying to make a claim of ownership would very quickly find himself in jail for making a false police report and attempted fraud. Some folks apparently are terrified of this possibility, or are afraid the ATF is monitoring their posts tracking guns, or something else I can't figure out.

I can't imagine what "hoops" a legitimate owner would have to jump through to prove ownership. It would be up to the person making the claim to provide evidence of a crime. The cops would first ask for the date and location of the theft to obtain police reports. If those things were not forthcoming the investigation would be DOA.

I have a Colt serial 70G30498 and on numerous occasions I have invited anyone so inclined to attempt to claim it as stolen property. I would be interested in seeing just how much legal crap he would be buried under in short order. If one is really concerned with privacy, or is paranoid, then hide the numbers. But I seriously doubt anything would ever come of it.

 

[M2 Carbine]

There is such a thing as giving out too much information to thousands of strangers (on the internet).

For instance the number of guns you own is no one's business but your own. Just as the serial numbers of these guns is no one's business but yours.

Since there's no good purpose served by giving out that information I generally keep it to myself.

 

[jmr40]

I cannot verify that any such thing happened, but the poential is certainly there. It is pretty good insurance to not show SN's. There are lots of people out there just looking for a way to use infomation illegally.

I am aware of an article written in one of the hunting magazines a few years back of a hunter crossing into Canada with a rifle he had purchased used many years earlier. Guns brought into Canada must be registered. When they ran the numbers it came back stolen. He was allowed to continue and hunted with a borrowed rifle. He was able to get is rifle back several months later when he was able to produce documentation proving that he owned the rifle for several years prior to it being reported stolen. It was later determined that someone who had previoulsy owned the gun had a breakin and had several guns stolen. He padded the insurance claim by reporting a gun stolen that he had sold years earlier.

The folks who do this are not out to get you. They are just looking for a way to scam their insurance companies. If they have a complete detailed description of a particular gun, with a SN that matches that guns description, it will raise few questions when they file a claim and police report of a stolen gun. They get their insurance check, and the guns SN goes into a data bank of stolen guns.

You may live your entire life and never know someone has used your information. Only years later when the SN gets run for some reason will it ever become a problem. I doubt if you would go to jail, but you might have some explaining to do.

Even then it could be hard to prove fraud on their part. If you bought the gun used in a private sale, it would be hard to prove that you did not unknowingly buy a stolen gun. Particularly if you also share such information in your post.

 

[BigG]

At the very least it shows bad taste, like the girl who kisses and tells.

 

[rcmodel]

Can you document that incident?

No, I can't.
As I said it happened years ago, probably in the 1960's when I was first getting deep into guns.

I do recall reading about it again in the American Rifleman Q&A column not too many years ago though.

I didn't just make it up this morning.

rc

 

[BSA1]

I fail to see the reason for showing the serial number. You can always ask for it by sending the sellor a private message.

 

[barneyrw]

There is also the possibility that your gun may have been stolen from a previous owner and reported to the police years ago. You or the person you bought it from could be totally unaware of this. If it is found to be previously stolen it will be returned to the person it was stolen from or his insurance company if they reimbursed him for the claim. This occasionally happens to cars recovered years after they were stolen.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

There is such a thing as giving out too much information to thousands of strangers (on the internet).

For instance the number of guns you own is no one's business but your own. Just as the serial numbers of these guns is no one's business but yours.

Since there's no good purpose served by giving out that information I generally keep it to myself.

I second this.

Unless there is a specific purpose to posting the serial number, such as authentication of the weapon or its age, there is no purpose in it.

But as this information isn't tied into such things as your financial records (bank account numbers, routing numbers, etc.), it's of limited immediate concern outside the previously mentioned examples of someone claiming the weapon to be theirs.

But such data can be collected about individuals and, when added together, can tell other people a great deal about them...if someone has the know-how and patience to put it all together. This is why, as a rule, I'm somewhat leary about posting any more information than I need to on the internet, whatever it may be about.

 

[baylorattorney]

Just dont do it, save everybody a head ache.

 

[SaxonPig]

Actually, there are times when a complete serial is a useful part of the discussion. It helps when dating the gun or determining what features it should have. It's not always necessary, or desirable, but sometimes it is and I have no fear of doing so when called for. I still don't see how anything bad can come from it.

But I am clearly in the minority opinion on this issue. I recall a few months ago a new member on the S&W Collectors Forum asked for someone to date his revolver. He provided the serial as: Cxxxxxx.

 

[TJx]

It takes me about a minute to open, edit, and close my photo editing software to blur out the last 3 digits of a serial number in a picture.
Why tempt fate?

 

[rem44m]

Thank you all. This is insightful. I was merely just curious why it was or could be a problem.

 

[buck460XVR]

Whenever I see a serial number blurred out, I just assume the gun has been stolen and the poster does not want the real owner to know he has it. Otherwise, there's no legitimate reason to do so.............

 

[TennJed]

If I was wanting to get a serial number for bad intentions, would it not be easier just to go into a pawn or gun shop and there you would have access to a lot of serial numbers.

Seems a lot easier that searching the Internet for pictures

If it was a big liability you would see gun stores putting black tape over it

 

[45_auto]

Just go on gunbroker. I would estimate that about half the guns on there have pics of their serial numbers.

 

[HDCamel]

I have no qualms about it.

Then again, I keep all of my receipts, so proving that I bought or sold something would be as easy as opening the file cabinet.

 

[baylorattorney]

Some jerk may report "his"pistol as stolen (your gun) and you would have to suffer arrest as a result if you were stopped and police ran the serials through National Crime Database. The cop wouldn't listen to you at all on the issue, you'd have to explain it to the prosecutors or judge. You wouldn't get your bail money or impound (vehicle) money back either, but I sure hope you prosecute the sorry bum who falsely claimed his gun stolen.

 

[The Man With No Name]

Personally I just take pictures without the serial showing so I don't have to black it out later. I just figure the serial is my business in the same way I don't tell strangers on the internet my dob, ss number, license plate number, ect.

 

[HDCamel]

Some jerk may report "his"pistol as stolen (your gun) and you would have to suffer arrest as a result if you were stopped and police ran the serials through National Crime Database. The cop wouldn't listen to you at all on the issue, you'd have to explain it to the prosecutors or judge. You wouldn't get your bail money or impound (vehicle) money back either, but I sure hope you prosecute the sorry bum who falsely claimed his gun stolen.

I'm pretty sure they'd need to provide proof of purchase to file such a claim.
If they can't and I can it really wouldn't make much sense to arrest me.

Like if some store worker accused me of shoplifting but I show them the sales receipt.

 

[45_auto]

I'm pretty sure they'd need to provide proof of purchase to file such a claim.

No "proof of purchase" required. Just call the cops and report it stolen, just like a skateboard, bicycle, lawn chair, tires on your car, etc. Around here if its' value is over $150 then it's a felony.

If they can't and I can it really wouldn't make much sense to arrest me.

Very few people carry their proof of purchase with them everywhere they go (good for you if you do). If you're involved in an incident that causes a cop to run your gun through NCIS and it comes back stolen, he's not going to let you go home and come back later with the receipt. The cops figured out pretty quick that if they let somebody go that REALLY did steal the gun, they ain't coming back!

As Baylorattorney said, you'll probably get a ride to the station in the back of a cop car, and your car will be towed. At a minimum it'll cost you the towing and impound fee.

 

[jmr40]

No proof of purchase is required to report a stolen gun. If you have a SN and a description of the gun you will not raise any suspicions. If you report a SN you just make up and when LE enters it and it does not match the description of the gun you reported it will raise red flags.

You could get info from a gunstore, etc, but when those guns are sold there is a paper trail and security cameras in most stores that would make it easier to get caught. It would never work on a new gun. The older the gun, and the more times it has changed hands the harder it is to track and the better candidate for a scam artist to use.

If someone is pretty smart about this the odds of getting caught are slim. Someone could cruise the net looking for someone bragging about a gun they just inherited from grandpa and posting photos. More than likely that gun will never be sold, or ever have the SN ran by LE. At least not in my lifetime. That is the one I'd report stolen as mine.

Or look out for the guy who brags about his newest gunshow find bought in a FTF transaction from a stranger. If I were dishonest I'd immediately call the police and my insurancee company to report that I had just discovered my gun missing from my car. I'd say it was last seen 2 weeks ago, and was taken sometime during the last 2 weeks. Even if the SN gets run the current owner cannot identify who he purchased it from and has no way to prove he did not unknowingly buy a stolen gun.

Remember, they are not trying to accuse you of stealing their gun. They are betting the numbers never get run and no one will ever realize it. They just want the insurance money. If the SN does get run at some time the odds of them getting caught increase. Very, very few guns ever have their SN's run unless they are used in a crime.

I'd bet if every gun in the country were required to be registered you'd be surprised how many have been reported stolen that were actually not.

 

[Mr.357Sig]

I've only got one pistola where the serial is in plain sight. Pics of it posted on several websites. I have the receipt. I'm not losing any sleep over it.