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Few notice the “spotter car” from Manny Sousa’s repo company as it scours Massachusetts parking lots, looking for vehicles whose owners have defaulted on their loans. Sousa’s unmarked car is part of a technological revolution that goes well beyond the repossession business, transforming any industry that wants to check on the whereabouts of ordinary people.
An automated reader attached to the spotter car takes a picture of every license plate it passes and sends it to a company in Texas that already has more than 1.8 billion plate scans from vehicles across the country.
These scans mean big money for Sousa — typically $200 to $400 every time the spotter finds a vehicle that’s stolen or in default — so he runs his spotter around the clock, typically adding 8,000 plate scans to the database in Texas each day.
“Honestly, we’ve found random apartment complexes and shopping plazas that are sweet spots” where the company can impound multiple vehicles, explains Sousa, the president of New England Associates Inc. in Bridgewater. But the most significant impact of Sousa’s business is far bigger than locating cars whose owners have defaulted on loans: It is the growing database of snapshots showing where Americans were at specific times, information that everyone from private detectives to insurers are willing to pay for.
Yes that would work good for you guys but most states have plates ON THE FRONT ALSO.... (Not that ya couldnt remove it.... I see alot of ppl in my state WITH NO FRONT PLATE and they dont seem to say anything)
What? businesses finding ways to prevent people from ripping them off? that's atrocious! People should definitely be allowed to default on their car loan payments.
Yes it builds a database....that others are using to catch criminals.
Wait, you're saying that it is tracking data about ME? Since I'm never in a place I'm not supposed to be doing things I shouldn't do, I don't care.
What? businesses finding ways to prevent people from ripping them off? that's atrocious! People should definitely be allowed to default on their car loan payments.
Yes it builds a database....that others are using to catch criminals.
Wait, you're saying that it is tracking data about ME? Since I'm never in a place I'm not supposed to be doing things I shouldn't do, I don't care.
You have your head in the sand........repo use sure, but why the need to upload8000 license plates daily per spotter vehicle (potentially innocent people) to a data base and what are they doing with that data base of info?
Lets say hypothetically, someone buys a report for $25 (as listed in the story) and you are on it. They then figure well she is at work from 9-5, there is her car in the parking lot. But in that data base they notice you have purchased a lot of jewelry at the mall (since it is linked to your credit report, you opened a charge account at a national jewelry chain and have spent 10K in the last 6 months on top of your 10K in Best Buy purchases also on your report). Then your house (address on credit report and vehicle registration) gets robbed......coincidentally all your new jewelry and electronics get stolen while you were at work, doing nothing wrong yet someone made a profit for selling the report for $25 (off info they gathered in your work parking lot)........hmmm I bet you are aggravated now!
Next year, your insurance company either raises your insurance rate or simply cancels your policy because you are now a risk due to the burglary......funny how this works and then since your zip code has burglaries your car insurance goes up also.
People have been robbed after posting "going on vacation" on facebook, so this above scenario certainly isn't far fetched, particularly if you have assets that attract someone's attention.
Insurance company pulling you the data to Charge you "Extra" because it found that you parked in a high loss area (even 1x) .
Marketing companies targeting you cause you have been seen to be parking in areas at certain times.
How about the mall itself? They see your car in their lot X times a month, then cross reference your credit card info to see exactly where you are spending your time/money. They then sell this info to retailers in similar businesses.......now 4 people are profiting off your license plate scan (guy taking the pic, database company, mall and then the retailer)
Much about nothing. In major cities the federal police (yes, there are Federal Police now) have license plate scanners and they check for IRS liens. Local police also have license plate scanners to check to warrants and unpaid parking tickets.
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