In Europe VIN's of cars are treated a little like SSN's are treated in the US. Some governments assume that just because you know the VIN of a vehicle, you must be it's owner, despite many vehicles having the VIN written on every bit of glass and visible without even unlocking the car...
In the US, the VIN must be visible from the outside of the vehicle, through the windshield on the driver's side. Covering the VIN from view is illegal.
