I will give you the benefit of the doubt; you have given me no evidence that you're "trolling" the board, so here goes.
Is this common practice? NO.
Is this illegal? YES.
Do a few people do it? YES.
Do they usually get caught? NO.
Does this mean you should try it yourself? That's up to you.
Most police officers do not know and/or do not care well enough what a pre-ban profile looks like. If you come across one that does, there's a fair chance he'll confiscate it and you'll face a little time + some charges (I don't know the penalties), or there's an equally fair chance he's one of those "I don't care, you haven't committed a crime with it, so carry on" guys. Depends on his attitude, opinions, rational mindset, if he has indigestion at the moment - lots of things.
If being a "sucker" as you call it keeps you legal, then by no means should you make an illegal configuration b/c you want to conform.
Besides, didn't anybody tell you that pre-ban parts were...
[i]Eeee-vil??[/i]
[img]www.auburn.edu/~littlcb/E-vil2.jpg[/img]