Author Archives: 200%

Determination, 200%

THIS AINT THE ONE… WE AINT THE ONES

While digging, I stumbled on this and busted out laughing. Whether or not we find it, we are absolutely putting the industry under a microscope – hopefully it results in a better outcome for everyone in the end.

Find the thief

I have a number of interesting finds with respect to potential areas of focus (both location and subjects). Unfortunately, it is not easy to share these details publicly when there may be a shadow of a doubt as to their involvement. In fact, these findings are what compelled me to register kv0250a151795.com, with the aim of getting the attention of WD and establishing a direct line of communication that allows me to share these details privately, and with attribution.

Another point worth sharing, which I have learned as I have researched this crime – is just how unbelievably common theft of heavy construction equipment is. The depths of this criminal activity are hard to fathom. Which highlights the more worrisome outcome that could stem from publicly sharing these details.

More to come

VIN Check Digits

Was intrigued to also learn the check digits baked into VINs. To better understand it, I wrote my own validator. Isn’t perfect but it worked on the few legit vin’s I came across. Unfortunately WD’s and other 13 digit JD 250’s do not seem to either 1) have a check digit or 2) use a conventional means for validation.

VIN / Serial Tags & Barcodes

In my search, I managed to rule out some false positives by decoding the barcode affixed to the vin tags. For example, some that had scuffed up serial numbers, or auctions that had listings with no serial number, I would take the image of the vin tag, and with basic editing, pass this in to a decoder to see if the stated VIN matched the serialized barcode.

For example:

Produces