Ripped from the license plate!

I returned from the gym to find, instead of the usual un-mutiliated license plate adorning the rear of my car, the following:

I had never seen anything like this before, so I called the DMV. They told me it happens all the time, and all I needed to do was go to the local office and get a new plate and registration sticker (the assumed reason for cutting off the corner of the plate). After $5.50 and 30 minutes everything was as good as new, but I can’t help but imagine that, after my laptop/backpack/shoe theft almost exactly a month ago, I’ve somehow acquired an improbable-crime entourage.