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Carjackers putting notes on back of car windows is false

Question asked:

“Carjackers put notes on the back of car windows”
False
Confidence: High Checked on October 30, 2026

Summary

There is no credible evidence that carjackers place notes on the rear windows of cars; fact‑checking organizations have identified the claim as an urban legend and a hoax. Police and authorities have confirmed that this tactic is not used in real carjackings.

Sources 59 searched

factcheck.afp.com
2009-2017.state.gov
kansas.gov
  • ONCE YOU ARE IN YOUR CAR . . Keep the doors and windows

    when driving. Use your rear and · side view mirrors. Drive in the center lane to make it · harder for would-be carjackers to · approach the car. Be wary of people asking for · directions or handing out fliers. IF YOU ARE CONFRONTED, DO · NOT RESIST. GIVE UP YOUR ·

snopes.com
  • Are Carjackers Leaving Flyers and $100 Bills on Car Windows? | Snopes.com

    Warning claims parking lot carjackers are placing flyers or $100 bills on the windows of cars, then taking the cars when drivers step out of their vehicles to remove them.

  • Omaha Carjacking | Snopes.com

    Carrie called 911 just before 3 p.m. and described the couple. She never talked to police, who arrived at the parking lot minutes later. The second part of the e-mailed warning that deals with "creeps" leaving notes on cars to give them time to "run up on you" when you go to remove these missives is just a regurgitation of a baseless "Send this to everybody you care about!" heads-up that has been circulating online since February 2004.

  • Are Carjackers Using Discarded Shirts as Bait to Lure Victims? | Snopes.com

    A new tactic used by abductors and carjackers is to leave a shirt on a windshield to lure women out of their cars.

hoaxes.org
  • Carjacker Strategy: Place Paper On Your Rear Window

    For about 2 months afterwards, the woman who sent it round the office had pieces of paper on her car's rear window every single night when she went home. Posted by Andrew Nixon on Sat Jan 28, 2006 at 09:29 AM · Yes but the question is, did she ever NOT see any one of those pieces of paper prior to getting in the car? Still a great joke though....2 months LOL. Posted by Lonewatchman on Sat Jan 28, 2006 at 02:23 PM · Another carjacking strategy you should watch out for is someone putting a gun to your head and demanding the car keys.

jacksonville.com
  • Fact Check: No evidence of this carjacking technique

    Running around parking lots sticking fliers on windshields and hanging around to wait for drivers to return involves planning and exposure atypical of most carjackers, police told Snopes.com. The officers do acknowledge, however, that it's more difficult these days to steal a car, so thieves might be resorting to other methods such as the paper-on-window one.

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