Paper or fliers attached to windows to carjack vehicles – Fact Check

ByCraig Haley

Warnings claim that criminals have come up with a new way to carjack vehicles by sticking pieces of paper or fliers to the back window of cars in order to attack a victim when they exit their car to remove the paper.

FALSE

The warnings being spread frequently claim that they have been issued from the police or other law enforcement agencies.

Warning from Police
DON’T SEND IT BACK PASS IT ON
This is the thing these days, with people out of work and needing cash (mainly for drugs!). Beware, it’s headed your way. Just last weekend on Friday night we parked in a public parking area. As we drove away I noticed a sticker on the rear window of the car. When I got home and took it off, it was a receipt for gas. Luckily my friend had told me not to stop as it could be someone waiting for me to get out of the car.
Then we received this email yesterday: WARNING FROM POLICE: THIS APPLIES TO BOTH WOMEN AND MEN. BEWARE OF A PIECE OF PAPER ON THE BACK WINDOW OF YOUR VEHICLE (A NEW WAY TO DO CARJACKING!)(NOT A JOKE!) Heads up everyone! Please, keep this circulating.You walk across the parking lot, unlock your car and get inside. You start the engine and shift into reverse. When you look into the rearview mirror to back out of your parking space, you notice a piece of paper stuck to the middle of the rear window. So, you shift into Park, unlock your doors, and jump out of your car to remove that paper (or whatever it is) that is obstructing your view. When you reach the back of your car, that is when the carjackers appear out of nowhere, jump into your car and take off. They practically mow you down as they speed off in your car. And guess what, ladies ? I bet your purse is still in the car! So now the carjacker has your car, your home address, your money, and your keys. Your home and your whole identity are now compromised!BEWARE OF THIS NEW SCHEME THAT IS NOW BEING USED.If you see a piece of paper stuck to your back window, just drive away. Remove the paper later! And be thankful that you read this e-mail.
I hope you will forward this to friends and family, especially to women. A purse contains all kinds of personal information and identification documents, and you certainly do NOT want it to fall into the wrong hands.Please keep this going and tell all your family and friends!
DON’T SAY: I DON’T HAVE A CAR YET, BUT WHAT OF UR RELATIVES?
PASS IT ON.

Collected October 2018

Imagine: You walk across the parking lot, unlock your car and get inside. Then you lock all your doors, start the engine and shift into REVERSE. Habit! You look into the rear-view window to back out of your parking space and you notice a piece of paper, some sort of advertisement stuck to your rear window. So, you shift into PARK, unlock your doors and jump out of your vehicle to remove that paper (or whatever it is) that is obstructing your view . . . when you reach the back of your car, that is when the car-jackers jump out of nowhere . . . jump into your car and take off — your engine was running, your purse is in the car, and they practically mow you down as they speed off in your car.
BE AWARE OF THIS NEW SCHEME
Just drive away and remove the paper that is stuck to your window later … and be thankful that you read this email and that you forwarded it to your friends.

Collected September 2009

Detective Bledsoe, of the Florissant, MO Sheriff’s office confirms that this is happening in St. Louis County, Missouri and could be happening near you, so be careful and take note. Lieutenant Tony Bartholome of the Missouri Highway Patrol urges everyone to keep this email circulating—the more people who are aware of this MO, the better. Description of new carjacking scheme:
You walk across the parking lot, unlock your car and get inside. Then you lock all your doors, start the engine and shift into REVERSE, and you look into the rearview mirror to back out of your parking space and you notice a piece of paper stuck to the middle of the rear window with official looking writing. So, you shift into PARK, unlock your doors and jump out of your car to remove that paper obstructing you! When you reach the back of your car, that is when the car-jacker appears out of nowhere, jump into your car and take off! Your engine was running, (ladies would have their purse in the car) and they practically mow you down as they speed off in your car with your ID inside. There have been six incidents in North St. Louis and four in Florissant and three reported around the Fox heatre on Grand Ave in August of 2005.
BE AWARE OF THIS NEW SCHEME THAT IS NOW BEING USED. Just drive away and remove the paper that is stuck to your window later, and be thankful that you read this email.
Hope you will forward this to friends and family …especially to women! A purse contains all identification, and you certainly do NOT want someone getting your home address.
They already HAVE your ID.

Collected June 2007

Warnings that purport to describe new or trending methods of stealing or carjacking vehicles are commonplace online and many have been circulating for well over a decade. In fact many such warnings are so old that they pre-date social media and initially began circulating through chain email, before eventually transitioning to sites like Facebook.

Tales about crooks using various items to obscure the windshield of a car also vary, quoting items like fake dollar bills, gas receipts, leaflets or just “pieces of paper” depending on the variant you stumble across. What they all do have in common, however, is that they claim that this is a “new” or “trending” method to steal cars, without providing or even offering proof to support that assertion.

In that sense, these warnings join others of a similar ilk, such as the crying child at the side of the road warning, the baby seat carjacking warning, the backseat driver legend, the zip ties carjacking tale and the plastic bottle in wheelwell tale.


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What all these online warnings have in common is that while all of them are theoretically viable – and at some point could have occurred at some point in time at some location across the globe – there is no actual evidence that any of them actually have occurred, let alone any suggestion that any of these warnings describe a new or trending type of carjacking method. If any of these warnings did accurately describe a new or trending type of crime, one would expect to find sources, genuine police warnings or reputable media reports about it.

And given that many of these warnings have been circulating the Internet for several years, including the “piece of paper” variant, at the very least, they are certainly not describing any new type of crime.

Instead, what we have instead is denials from various police departments who, over the years, have been falsely attributed as the source to such warnings.


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It is, of course, always recommended to be vigilant when entering or exiting your car, since carjacking and automobile theft are real and ever-present threats. But passing around alarmist and patently false warnings about “new, trending” ways to steal vehicles serves no real purpose and is likely to be more counterproductive than helpful.

Carjacking crimes are typically crimes of opportunity, and as such don’t really lend themselves to crooks going around affixing paper to the windows of cars and then lying in wait for the would-be victims to return to their cars in the hope they notice the paper and exit their vehicle before driving off. If you want to help your friends avoid such crime, you’re much better off spreading genuinely helpful tips about common carjacking techniques than urban scarelore, such as these useful tips.