1. A non-transitory computer readable medium containing instructions which, when executed by a computer, perform a process comprising: capturing an image which includes a vehicle identification number (VIN); making a color assumption with respect to the VIN; identifying candidate text strings that may include the VIN; performing an optical character recognition (OCR) on the candidate text strings; sending the candidate text strings for validation; and in response to the candidate test string being validated, receiving a confirmed VIN value for the validated candidate text strings.