r/Cartalk • u/hautbois666 • Jul 27 '24

someone put a bandana on my truck? Safety Question

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just came out to my truck to find this bandana on the antenna. i took it off, but just wondering if anyone had any ideas on what might be the reason that someone put it there? if any? thanks!

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u/R0RSCHAKK Jul 27 '24 edited Jul 27 '24

So a real answer that probably won't get seen as I'm a bit late to the party here.

Its is common in urban areas, such as where I live, that car thieves and people looking to break into cars, will tag a vehicle in a rather noticeable way and watch the vehicle for a couple days (at most) to see if the owner will notice and remove it. Tags can be anything from a bandana, bumper sticker, to even just writing in the dirt on the vehicle.

Its a scouting tactic. If the tag is removed/cleaned pretty quickly, they know the owner is frequently using/visiting the vehicle and it's not worth the risk.

If it's not removed/clean quickly, they know the owner doesn't watch the vehicle and they can probably get away with breaking in/stealing it without the owner noticing.

This also applies to houses/apartments as well. The tag will usually be on or near the front door. If the tag is not removed/cleaned, they know the owner is probably not home and it's likely safe to break in. They also will watch for deliveries like Amazon packages. If there's a package sitting on your doorstep for a few days, they know youre not home.

Oh, also, If your car is in a public parking lot and tagged, then it's possibly a mark to follow the vehicle home or to a less populated area.

Or it was the wind blew some shit up there. 🤷

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u/Kingsey982 Jul 27 '24

This is what I thought. In my country, thieves would put flyers in your mailbox (attached to the door, you'll see it immediately if you enter or leave the house) and leave a part hanging out. If you don't remove it, there is a chance they'll break into your house. Also, newspaper deliveries aren't always pushed all the way through, which has the same effect.

For the car, it depends a lot on if it was parked in front of the door or in front of a store/somewhere you take off from rather quickly.