PORTLAND, Maine - Drivers may have a new reason to fear a car break-in.
About 40 vehicles have been broken into in the past several months in Portland, Maine, by thieves seeking inspection stickers.
There are sporadic reports elsewhere in 16 states that require motorists to pay for and display the stickers. They show that a car has passed a safety or emissions test.
One theory is that jobless people who can’t afford car repairs are buying the stolen inspection stickers on the black market.
The thieves smash a window to get inside and then heat the outside of the windshield to loosen the glue on the sticker, police say. Then thieves carefully peel away the supposedly tamperproof stickers.
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