Bumper Sticker Identity
“Coexist”, “family stick figures”, and “baby on board”. Bumper stickers are as commonplace in our culture as fireworks on the 4th of July. Although bumper stickers are a cool way to show your religious beliefs, family tree, or political preference they also expose your personal information to a broad audience in a way that can potentially endanger you and your family.
In the early months of 2022, Newsweek wrote an article describing how criminals target bumper stickers for crime. The basis of the article was from a facebook post by the Perry Township police department in Ohio. "You could potentially be telling criminals your schedule, your personal information, or even what you own in your home or vehicle." says the spokesperson for the midwestern police department. The social media infographic gave the audience insight of the criminal mind as it relates to how they use these everyday decals to enhance their illegal activity.
Criminals use a “baby on board” sticker to inform them that the driver is most likely constantly distracted because of the child and can be an easy target. Bumper stickers that show sports youth leagues or gymnastics not only have the potential of informing criminals of where your kids would be, it also informs them that you won’t be home on evenings because of practice. Honor roll students bumper stickers alert criminals of where your children go to school. Family stick figure bumper stickers alert criminals of how many people are in your family and their approximate age. Church or other religiously affiliated stickers can inform criminals that you will not be at home around religious observance days like a Sunday morning.
Who would've ever thought that a simple bumper sticker could bear so many risks. It’s unfortunate that we live in a world where an outward expression of our pride and joy could be used against us. However, this unpleasant reality is better for us to know so that we can make an informed decision of what type of bumper stickers to put on our car, if any at all.