Paper. Who needs it any more? With the electronic communication we are now capable of, it doesn’t do much good. In the world of Korean car thievery, however, it does much bad.

The Gwangju-Jeonnam Police Department has issued a warning on its official blog after recording a slew of cases where car thieves used single sheets of paper to carry out their crimes.

According to the Department, the scam is incredibly simple. The car thieves target only vehicles that are parked head-in. They tape a sheet of paper to the rear window of a target vehicle and wait for its owner to return and try to back out of the parking spot. The owner notices the paper on the rear window and gets out of the car to remove it while the engine is running. The thieves use that moment to make off with the vehicle.

The Department is trying to call as much attention as possible to this serious crime because the damage does not end at losing one’s car. The thieves also steal the owners’ belongings inside the cars, which include items like mobile phones and house keys. Some victims have reported that their houses have been broken into. If a victim leaves their mobile phone inside the car, they cannot contact the police as quickly, and if they are far from home, there is no way that they can beat the thieves there.

And all it takes is one piece of paper put in a place where it shouldn’t be. When the keys are out or the engine is running and something seems amiss, drivers should take an extra second to evaluate the situation to avoid becoming victims of this injurious and insulting crime.