It can be difficult to tell fact from fiction when it comes to the seemingly endless warnings of new car theft tactics. Sometimes they’re legit, like teenagers waiting at gas stations for people to get out of their cars. Other times, the story seems a little too outlandish to believe. You may have heard that thieves may egg your car’s windshield to get you to pull over so they can steal your car. Is there any merit to this story?

Supposedly, an egg met with windshield wipers makes it virtually impossible to see

According to USA Today, the concept is fairly simple. The story goes that thieves will pick cars they want and throw an egg or two at the windshield in hopes the driver will turn the wiper blades on. In turn, it’s supposed to reduce driver visibility to the point that they’ll pull over, then the criminals will take the car and leave.

However, there are a lot of holes in the story that don’t add up. The social media posts circulating this information claim that mixing an egg with washer fluid reduces visibility by 92.5%. Certainly, an egg has plenty of opportunity to distract a driver or block their vision outright. However, USA Today reports that there is no scientific backing to that claim. It’s just a made-up number, it seems. Furthermore, studies have shown that the opposite is true, and windshield wipers clean eggs off just fine.

This story apparently first started making rounds all the way back in 2009. It was touted as “a new gang tactic” and sent through email chains. Recently, it has seen some resurgence on Facebook. However, there is no increase in egg-related crimes that should lead anyone to believe that this is a tactic that is widespread.

Of course, that’s not to say that this tactic has never been used or been attempted in a car robbery. However, the verbiage of the posts would lead you to believe that it is a widespread issue, which it isn’t.

As always, it’s easy to dismiss sharing something like this with a “better safe than sorry” mentality. However, it’s always best to ensure you’ve got the facts straight before sharing.

Eggs on cars can cause severe damage

While an egg may not have a drastic effect on your windshield, it can have a disastrous effect on your paint. If not dealt with immediately, an egg on car paint can cause permanent damage to your clear coat. While it may not be the weapon of choice for car thieves, there are still plenty of car egging incidents. So, if you’re unfortunate enough to fall victim to this classic vandalism, be sure to remove the eggs as soon as possible.

Overall, it’s important to take protecting yourself and your car seriously. Obviously, any chance you have to help prevent people from getting their cars stolen seems like a good choice to make. However, you may be spreading misinformation and raising people’s alert for no reason.

Want tips on how to prevent your car from being stolen? Scroll down and let an actual car theft expert tell you what to look out for.