Should you leave your phone number on your dashboard?

Why people do it

In Sri Lanka a number on a card behind the windscreen is common, and for a good reason: parking is tight, double-parking is normal, and the person you’ve blocked needs to reach you. A number is the simplest way to make that possible.

The downsides

• Anyone can keep it. Car park attendants, passers-by and people in the next car can photograph the card. The number stays with them long after you’ve moved.
• Spam and scam calls. A number linked to a car is useful to anyone selling insurance, leasing or something worse. Scam calls and WhatsApp messages often start with a number found in public.
• It says the car is empty. A number on the dashboard tells a stranger whose car it is and that the owner isn’t nearby.
• It’s hard to take back. Change your number and every old card, and every photo of it, still has the old one.

Safer options

1. A note with no number. “Back in 10 minutes, ask at the pharmacy” works for a short stop.
2. Your building’s vehicle register. Apartments and offices that log residents’ vehicle numbers can find you without your number being in the window.
3. Leaving your keys with security, where the building allows it, so the car can be moved.
4. A private QR contact tag. People scan it with their phone camera and send you a message or a voice note. You get the alert on your phone; neither of you sees the other’s number.

How a QR contact tag works

1. You create a tag with your vehicle number and print it, or order a durable printed one.
2. Someone scans it, taps a reason such as “You’re blocking me” or “Your lights are on”, and sends it. They don’t need an app.
3. You get the alert in the app or by text message, and can reply in a private chat.

You can turn on a Call or WhatsApp button whenever you want people to ring you, and turn it off again. That’s the part a printed number can’t do. See the car QR sticker for details, or read what to do when someone blocks your car.