New car jacking Scam

[Malenibo]

Text deleted

[marky]

Malcolm my handbag is always with me so no worries there

[da SLUG man]

some other handy hints for if you live in the bronx!

http://www.stcpp.org/fact_cj1.htm

[Morr]

Hi this came into my inbox at work ........

This email has been doing the rounds for a while now, having apparently originated in the US, it has been debunked as a hoax.

[Vagrant No2]

From the text on Matts link :
'Some cars have been stolen after householders have opened their doors to strangers who then force entry to steal the keys. Follow basic home security advice such as using a door chain, and do not open doors to strangers, especially if you are alone at home'

Do they mean fit a door chain inside your car ?

Rick

[Morr]

The following is taken from www.snopes.com

Claim: Parking lot carjackers are placing flyers on the rear windshields of automobiles, then taking the cars when drivers step out of their vehicles to remove the flyers.

Status: False.

Example: [Collected on the Internet, 2004]

Imagine: You walk across the parking lot, unlock your car and get inside. Then you lock all your doors, start the engine and shift into REVERSE. Habit! You look into the rear-view window to back out of your parking space and you notice a piece of paper, some sort of advertisement stuck to your rear window. So, you shift into PARK, unlock your doors and jump out of your vehicle to remove that paper (or whatever it is) that is obstructing your view . . . when you reach the back of your car, that is when the car-jackers jump out of nowhere . . . jump into your car and take off — your engine was running, your purse is in the car, and they practically mow you down as they speed off in your car.

BE AWARE OF THIS NEW SCHEME

Just drive away and remove the paper that is stuck to your window later . . . and be thankful that you read this email and that you forwarded it to your friends.

Origins: This alert has been kicked from inbox to inbox since February 2004. Although we originally classified it as Undetermined in our initial write-up just after the warning appeared (because at that early stage not enough was then known about it), we feel it's time to move this alert squarely into the False category.

Since February 2004 we have been watching the news most carefully for any sign of an actual carjacking — either perpetrated or merely attempted — that followed the script outlined in the widely-spread e-mailed caution. We have yet to see evidence of so much as one. Were this "lure motorists from their vehicles by leaving flyers on their cars' rear windows, then drive off with their buggies" method in play, that surely would not have been the case.

Nothing rules out there having been one car theft carried out in the manner described that we have yet to hear about. But even if that proves to be the case, there is clearly no crime wave, no ever-present danger to motorists everywhere, no flyer-armed menace lurking in the nation's parking lots.

We generally try to apply five points in evaluating warnings about possible criminal schemes or activities:

1) Is the phenomenon outlined in the warning technically possible as described?

2) Is the phenomenon outlined in the warning plausible? (That is, some criminal schemes are technically possible, but they're too difficult, cumbersome, or expensive to plausibly enact on anything more than a very limited basis.)

3) Are there any verifiable instances of people having been victimized in the manner described by the warning?

4) Is there evidence that the criminal activity described in the warning is widespread?

5) Is the criminal activity described in the warning something the average person might fall victim to?

Tackling these points in order, we find:

1) This is a decidedly "low-tech" scheme for stealing cars, so it's certainly possible this method could be used to steal cars (although, as we discuss below, it may be a rather implausible scheme in execution).

2) Our law enforcement contacts noted that although the process described above could be used by carjackers, they were unfamiliar with any cases of cars being stolen in this manner, and the scheme outlined ran contrary to their experience of how carjackers operate. Specifically, they said that carjackings are generally crimes of opportunity, committed by persons in need of quick cash or youngsters either out for a thrill or participating in some rite of passage (such as a gang initiation). Carjackers tend to hang around places where motorists have to stop or exit their vehicles (e.g., intersections, gas stations, car washes, ATMs, freeway on- and off-ramps) and then force the drivers out of their automobiles (or simply take off with the temporarily unoccupied cars). Running around parking lots sticking flyers on windshields and then hanging around to wait for drivers to return to their vehicles involves planning and exposure atypical of most carjackers; they're more likely to approach occupied vehicles (particularly luxury cars with high resale value) and force the drivers out (by threatening them with weapons and/or physically pulling them out of their seats).

They acknowledged, however, that as improvements in car alarms, locking devices, and other anti-theft systems have made it harder to steal unoccupied vehicles, car thieves (i.e., those who boost vehicles on a regular basis, mostly without the use of violence or weaponry) may be resorting to alternative methods such as the one described above. (Many cars lack rear windshield wipers under which flyers could be placed, but the flyers might be affixed with some type of adhesive instead.)

But one aspect of this scheme sounds somewhat implausible: Drivers usually have to back up to leave a parking space in situations where they've parked head-in, and people who have parked head-in are generally approaching their cars from the rear when they return. So, a flyer posted on a rear window is quite likely to be discovered and removed by the returning driver before he enters his car.

3) We haven't yet found any news reports of cars being jacked in the manner reported above, nor any law enforcement officials who had heard of it other than though the e-mailed. It's possible, though, that if this were truly a new scheme, the detail about a flyer on the windshield might not have been reported because the victim (and police) didn't realize it was an element of the carjacking.

4) Since we haven't yet documented any occurrences of the activity described in this warning, we can't confirm that it is a widespread activity.

5) If this scheme were actually employed by carjackers (or car thieves), it's certainly something the average person might fall victim to.

[Pete]

I think a little reality check is required here. Even if this scam is real, does anyone honestly think a Surf is a carjackers target! Get real folks. They go for expensive luxury motors.