A Small Rant--Clean Out Your Car!

An integral part of keeping your life private is to keep your car clean. I was wondering what I would post about this afternoon when I walked by a car parked in the lot outside of my office. When I glanced inside (I tend to look at everything around me as a safety precaution, not to be nosy), I saw that the car was a disaster both inside and out. The worst part wasn't that it was messy but that it disclosed so much information about the owner that it was, in my opinion, a security risk for the entire family. Here's what I saw:

• A sticker on the outside saying "my child is an honor student at ____ school". Right away I know where a stalker could find her kid.
• The stalker could find her kid because his homework was in the back seat with his name on the papers that were strewn about the back seat.
• The car was about two years old so it's a good bet the kid still goes to that school.
• I could tell where they have eaten over the past week. Looked like fast food every day. Gag.
• Her mail was on the dashboard with her name and address prominently displayed on each envelope. Now the stalker has her name, address, car info, and name of her kid.
• The mail appeared to be mostly bills such as credit card statements. A thief could have broke into her car, took the bills, and instantly set themselves up with a whole bunch of new credit accounts--in her name.
• There was girly stuff in the car and only the woman's address on the mail so it looked like she may be a single woman with kids.
• There was also a child's booster seat in the back seat of the car. It's a good bet that at the mall or other location where she would be getting her kids in and out of the car, she would be distracted and an optimum target for an attacker.
• There was a GPS device on the dashboard. Apparently she didn't know that people will bash the window in and grab these devices with surprising ease since they are worth some money. Never, never, never leave anything of value in plain view in your car. Duh.

Anyway, you get the picture. Your car should look like a rental car. Very basic, very clean, very ordinary, and have nothing in the car that would attract the attention of anyone--identity thief, stalker, etc.