During the COVID-19 crisis, some people in Japan have resorted to pilfering toilet paper from public restrooms when the rolls became unavailable in stores.

One convenience store worker put the power of the supernatural to work against such thefts. Mink Itachibe, who works at a store in the Niigata prefecture, hung signs with images of eyes and kanji characters in front of the toilet paper to curse the tempting rolls. “I did it as a joke, but it seems to have worked,” she told CNN. The symbols imply that if someone nips TP from the store, a hungry monster will hunt them down and gobble them up. “People can be quite superstitious in Japan,” Itachibe said.

And on the other side of the pond, you can add to the list of things not to leave in plain sight in your car: toilet paper. 

Police in Eugene, Oregon, stated that on March 15, a thief shattered the entire back window of an SUV in order to get his mitts on two 30-roll cases of toilet paper, along with other valuables, the Blaze reported. “Anytime vehicles are left unattended for extended periods of time, local thieves view it as a favorable opportunity,” police reminded Oregonians.