5 Theif-Attracting Items You May Be Keeping in Your Car

Leaving some items in your car may seem harmless, especially if you know you won’t be away for long.

However, a robbery can happen in minutes or less, and it only takes one eye-catching item to grab the thief’s attention to your stationed vehicle.

So if you are wondering what things should not be left in a vehicle, here are 5 items that you should avoid keeping in your car because they lure thieves to it.

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1 – Bags

Any type of bag is attractive to robbers, backpack, fanny pack, handbag; they’re all worth breaking into a vehicle to enjoy the loots.

Regardless if you have valuables in the bag or not, a thief cannot tell whether there’s anything in the bag and breaking your vehicle’s window to check won’t cost him anything.

Avoid leaving any bags in clear sight, or any other container, in view. If you absolutely have to leave a carrier in your car, it is better to put it in the trunk and out of sight.

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2- Loose Change

A few coins or small banknotes may not seem worth breaking into a car, but they definitely are in the eyes of a thief because they don’t have to worry about the repairs.

Gaining a small amount of money is worth a quick break-in with virtually no consequences. The whole ordeal may be over in less than 30 seconds before law enforcement comes to the scene.

Avoid leaving money in the open in your vehicle, especially near the center console, where most drivers tend to toss the cash and leave it.

Cash in sight will be the first thing an onlooker notices, and it jeopardizes the safety of everything else in your car, even if it’s well hidden.

3 – Important Documents

From ID papers to credit cards, keeping any important documents out in the open may give potential robbers the impression that you have more valuables lying around in your car.

If you leave such essential documents in the vehicle for everyone to see, even thieves will view that as an indicator of carelessness.

Not to mention that you put yourself at risk of identity theft, which has catastrophic consequences, from piling up loans and debt to issuing and using credit cards in your name, which will cost you a fortune.

4 – Electronics

What can be more tempting for a thief than a shiny screen sitting and waiting for grabs behind your car’s glass?

Nothing really, electronics left behind in parked cars are probably the reason behind most car break-ins, and they cost more because you need to repair your vehicle AND get a new electronic device instead of the one you lost.

You also risk losing important information or releasing sensitive data, leaving you more vulnerable to fraud.

You can avoid all that trouble by keeping your phone or tablet close all the time. Instead of leaving electronics in the car, take them with you; you will probably put them to better use anyway.

5 – GPS Device

Unlike your personal electronics that you can just grab and put in your bag for ease of access, you probably won’t need your GPS device outside your car as you have your phone for that. 

And because your vehicle is most likely the only place you use your navigation device, you might be tempted to leave it there to save yourself the trouble of reinstalling it on its mount. 

But you probably missed the fact that a GPS tool, or its set-up, is more than a valid reason for a thief to break your car’s window.

So to be on the safe side, take the device off your dashboard and make sure no suction ring marks are visible on the windshield, as that may be a clue for the robber that your device is hidden in a compartment inside the car.