Digital, connected license plate tattles on car thieves, helps law enforcement recover vehicle
Tony Nguyen's 4Runner disappeared from a parking lot, but his Reviver digital license plate helped make sure it didn't stay gone for long
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 31, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- California resident Tony Nguyen stepped inside a hardware store for less than five minutes and came back outside to find his customized Toyota 4Runner missing from the store's parking lot.
"I was thinking, okay, I parked it right close to the store entrance, and I was kind of in disbelief," he said. "I'm like, this car has all these security features, how would it have gotten stolen?"
But it had. Two individuals made off with Nguyen's prized 4Runner and quickly jumped on Interstate 405 in Los Angeles County.
"Your heart sinks into your gut when you notice or realize that, hey, your vehicle's been stolen," Nguyen said. "For people like me, where we modify our cars and enjoy our cars on a daily basis, it's heart-wrenching. You know, like, you feel like you've been violated."
Immediately, Nguyen called law enforcement to file a report. He then pulled up the app for his Reviver RPLATE, a digital, connected license plate that he's had installed on his vehicle for years. Nguyen activated Reviver's "Stolen" feature and waited.
Meanwhile, as the suspects fled down the freeway, Reviver confirmed the report with authorities and enabled the vehicle's digital RPLATE to display the word "STOLEN" in big bold letters for all to see. The suspects had no idea. However, the message alerted nearby drivers, who made several phone calls to California Highway Patrol (CHP).
"CHP ended up stopping these guys before they even managed to switch freeways," according to Nguyen.
Less than an hour after Nguyen put the call out to authorities, he was reunited with his 4Runner.
"It was just amazing because, you know, most of the time when vehicles get stolen nowadays, they either don't get recovered or they're stripped before they're even found or recovered," Nguyen said. "It was incredible to see the RPLATE in action."
For Reviver, the maker of the RPLATE, it was a chance to hear directly from a longtime customer about a feature being used in the exact real-world situation it was designed for.
"It's a really great example and use case of our stolen feature," Reviver's director of marketing, Clayton Cardinalli, said. "Even if the suspects were familiar with the RPLATE and decided to remove it before taking the vehicle, Tony would've got a notification at that time, letting him know the plate was removed. That would immediately tip him off that something fishy was going on."
The bottom line: For decades, license plates have been little more than static identifiers. But digital license plates, like the RPLATE, add layers of functionality and protection that can assist drivers when something goes wrong.
About Reviver
Reviver Inc. has reimagined the license plate into a future-proofed connected vehicle platform. By embracing technology advancements and working collaboratively with partners throughout the automotive ecosystem, we have helped to enable a better experience for everyone, including drivers, DMVs, highway patrol, auto dealerships, and commercial fleet businesses. Learn more at Reviver.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, YouTube, and TikTok.
SOURCE Reviver
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