In what can only be described as one of the most counter-intuitive auto break-in prevention methods, people in the Bay Area are leaving their parked cars with their trunks open in order to discourage potential thieves.

San Francisco and Oakland have seen a considerable increase in vehicle break-ins in recent months, and things have reportedly gotten so bad that people would rather leave their cars wide open just to show would-be thieves that they have nothing worth stealing. According to several local news stations, an increasing number of residents have started taking out everything of value from their vehicles, unlocking the doors, and leaving the trunk open as they go about their business. At least way, thieves don’t have to break a window to look for anything valuable in the parked car.

“There’s nothing in my car, and they can see that there’s nothing to take,” Parisa Hemmat, a business owner in Oakland, told Inside Edition, as she left her SUV with the trunk wide open.

NBC Bay Area reports that break-ins in San Francisco have spiked nearly 200% since last year, with about 74 new break-ins reported every day. Some car owners have turned to signs in the windows that read “Please use the doors,” or “Please Do Not Break Glass!! Nothing Inside!!”

Although leaving the car with its doors unlocked and even with the trunk open when parked is becoming popular in the Bay Area, police are warning motorists against it.

 

“They could steal your batteries, your tires,” former San Francisco Deputy Police Chief Garret Tom told ABC 7. “They could go into your glove compartment and find where you live. It’s an invitation for disaster.”