The nice bumper stickers you place on your car may be more harmful than you know, according to the Perry Township Police Department.
An image released by the police department shows an infographic displaying the back of a car adorned with several stickers.
The graphic goes on to break down each bumper sticker and explain why they may potentially risk giving strangers an unnecessary amount of information about you, your family, or your personal life. How these stickers can make you a target for criminals.
For example, there are often bumper stickers on cars that show cute little stick figures or symbols representing the family of those in the car.
For a stranger, that gives them the exact number of people living in your home, as well as their average age. If you happen to display that you’re a single mother, that might embolden a criminal.
Bumpers stickers from your kids’ schools or sponsoring their sports and electives also reveal where your kid is every day, along with where and what your kid will be up to on an average day.
This could provide insight to when your house is likely to be empty.
While bumper stickers give a great level of personality to your vehicle, it is important to understand what kind of information you convey with them before deciding to put them on your car.
Not all bumper stickers are threatening, however. Some of them add your own personal touch to your car.
But others, like ones that display an interest in expensive hobbies like hunting, BMX biking, or boating, can tell strangers that you may own high-price items in your home, or that you aren’t at your house very often. They are much more likely to pick you as a target if they have this information.
While it’s certainly okay to put these on your car, it is also important to understand the potential risks that arise with sharing that level of personal information.
Even personalized license plates can present a risk to your privacy and increase your susceptibility to being the target of a suspicious person.
Because each personalized license plate is unique, it makes you and your car significantly easier to track, as your license plate will stand out in a crowd compared to the myriad of random numbers and letters.
That’s not to say that you shouldn’t have any sort of bumper stickers or identifying information on your vehicle.
But it is extremely important to keep track of what sort of identifying information you present to the public eye, especially if you feel that there may be someone that would take the opportunity to abuse that available information.
Ultimately the kinds of bumper stickers you carry on your car are up to you.
It’s important to be individualistic and expressive, but it is also a good idea to keep in mind how that expression and individualism can be used.
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