What does your vehicle say about you? I don’t mean the type of vehicle it is, not really. Rather, what information can people glean by looking at, or in, your car or truck? Some vehicles are akin to electronic billboards, telling anyone and everyone all manner of personal information about the owner and their family.
Family Composition Information
Those little stick figures you see on the back of minivans tell people who lives in the home, sometimes including their names. A baby sticker means you’ll probably be distracted entering or exiting the vehicle. The same thing goes with Baby on Board sorts of signs.
Pet stickers let onlookers know about dogs, and again, often include names. If the breed mentioned is small, such as a terrier, people may interpret that to mean the dog isn’t much of an actual threat beyond their noise.
Family Activity Information
Bumper stickers indicating how well your child does in school could make them a target for kidnapping, as the criminal will know exactly where to find them. Coupled with the above-mentioned stickers, they’ll know the child’s name as well as yours.
As proud as you may be of your football or volleyball player, advertising their team means a burglar need only know when games are being played to be reasonably sure the house will be empty.
Stickers indicating military service could mean that at least one of the adults in the home is gone for long periods of time, making the home a more enticing target. Same for stickers advertising a job in an oil field or similar occupation.
Hunting, fishing, and similar pursuits advertised on the back of your truck mean you likely have expensive gear sitting at home. Clever signs about shooting trespassers or thieves just mean there are probably firearms that can be stolen.
Likewise, political signs could make your vehicle a target for vandalism.
License Plate Information
Many people like to use personalized license plates, often to have a little fun. But one drawback is that they are easy to remember. If you cause someone to get upset with you, intentional or otherwise, they might remember your plate and recognize it later. This is pretty much the opposite of being the gray man.
Vehicle Interior Information
It isn’t just the outside of the car or truck we need to worry about. Pay attention to what you leave sitting out on the seats. For example, if you have mail or packages in plain sight, someone could glean your home address with zero trouble. If I pick up mail at the post office, I always turn it over on the seat so the labels are facing down.
Parking permits hanging from the rearview mirror may indicate where you live, work, or go to school. Stickers in the front window will do the same, but those are a necessary evil, so to speak. Hang tags should be stored in the glove box when not needed.
Take a moment to walk around your vehicle and look at it with an objective eye. What information are you giving away?
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