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Disturbing Carjacking Scheme! **Please Take a Moment to Read This**

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Monika:

--- Quote from: Penthesilea on January 08, 2009, 08:03:35 am ---For a second I misread IMPD for IMDB and thought huh? What does IMDB have to do with car-jacking? :laugh:


BTW, in Germany people don't lock their cars when driving. In contrast, we're all taught to never lock it when driving, in case you have an accident and are unconscious, help can get to you easier and faster.
I was astonished to learn that in the US some cars lock automatically when you start driving.

--- End quote ---
No, I´d never heard of people locking their cars while driving either. I want to be able to get out as fast as possible if something happens.

I have mixed feeling about what they say about not getting out of your car. I rather have thieves take my car than to get hurt myself, which might happen if they get desperate enough.

Shasta542:
My car locks automatically. The thing I don't like is that when I stop and turn the key off--it UNlocks automatically! If I am going to sit a minute and gather things, I re - lock it manually. It's locked at all times. Even in the carport at home.

j.U.d.E.:
Hi! I'm not saying what you describe can't happen David, but I have a feeling that it is a hoax! I mean it sounds to me like an e-mail to be sent around and around and around to cram people's inboxes. I say that, because a few months ago, I received the exact same warning in my work e-mail inbox as it was sent around by various colleagues. I rarely pass on stuff like that, especially when it says – you have to pass it on to minimum 10 people otherwise bad stuff happens to you. It's not the case here, though. I also sometimes check www.hoaxbuster.com. And when I receive something I feel is worth passing on, I usually delete that sentence at the end, asking the sender to send it on to at least x people, in so many minutes etc etc.  >:(

I must say though, that thieves have more and more nasty ways. One of my colleagues told us that before Christmas, while she was driving in a semi-dark street in the evening, 4-5 people appeared screaming and jumping around her car, so much so that she had to stop for not running one over. When she stopped they broke a window and stole her purse (about 300 EUR in it - it was Christmas time after all!) and her mobile phone. Good thing was her home keys were not in the purse. She couldn't call the police there and then, 'cause her mobile was stolen. But she had to drive to the nearest station to report it. She then called her ageing mother staying with her in her home and her mother told her that she received a call from someone pretending to be the police and saying that they found the purse and would come 'round at 8am the following morning to return her purse. The next morning my colleague was outside her flat waiting for the police, but nobody showed up. Instead 4-5 guys walking up and down her street past her - smiling - and she recognized one of her assailant from the night before! They then disappeared. She called the police again, but they just said to her to be extra-careful......  :-\ ::)

The week before Christmas - I was at work - thieves entered the apartment above mine at around 5pm, via the balcony (sliding door wasn't locked but I don't know how they knew..) by climbing on a removal van's roof. My neighbour and his daughter were sitting in their living room watching tv, when they had unsuspected and unsuspecting visitors. Apparently they left without harming anyone, but stealing jewellery out of the room they first entered.... SCARY!  :o

I try to always lock my car while I'm driving, at least in certain areas of my city! The thing is that it can be opened from the inside still. Of course if you are in an accident and people try to open the door to get you out and it's locked, you're in a bad situation... But what to do?...  ???

j.U.d.E.

David In Indy:
It turns out that the very first incident I posted is an urban legend. One of the members here (thank you Chuck!) alerted me to it and pointed me to Snopes. Sure enough, there it was! Which is good I guess, but I feel a bit of a fool now. I'm surprised my neighborhood crime watch would fall for something like this, and apparently the IMPD did too! :-\

Anyhow, I sent them an email informing them it is indeed an urban legend. In addition to this post, I sent out a multitude of emails to friends and families about this, so now I must undo my damage and email them back.

Still though, it's probably a very good idea to keep your eyes and ears open. In this frustrating and bad economy, people are desperate and probably willing to do just about anything. Sorry for the false alarm.

The one just below it though - the one about the phone being disconnected is true. I know the family it happened to. I guess they (the thieves) do it in order to make robbing the house easier later on.

David In Indy:
My god Jude! Kids are actually jumping out in front of cars in order to rob them? That's really scary isn't it? I can somehow picture kids around here trying to do the exact same thing. Not just kids, but some desperate adults (or just plain mean adults) doing it as well. If something like that happened to me in a parking lot or a busy city street, I'd just start honking the car horn continuously (a full blast) and not stop until they went away. But that wouldn't work way out in the country or far away from other cars and people.

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