Warning - for users of hand/man bags

[OldBlueLady]

I have been passed this story today. A woman visited the toilet in John Lewis @ Blue water and hung her handbag on the back of the toilet door. As she carried on about her business, a hand suddenly appeared over the top of the stall and grabbed her bag clean off the hook!!!

She immediately reported the incident to the head of security, who in turn informed the manager of the store. A couple of days later she had a call from the head of security to say her bag had been found without her purse. So she arranged a convenient time to go and meet the manager to collect her things.

On arriving at the John Lewis store at the agreed time, the manager was not expecting her & neither was the head of security. No one from the store had actually called her as the bag had still not been found.

When the lady got home, her house had been burgled with no sign of forced entry. The Police believe the robbers had used her Driving License for the address and her keys to let themselves in!

This is real - it isn't just a scaremongering story. Many will be so shocked at how complex bag snatching crime has become.

 

[EastStandBlue]

Fair play, I'll remember that one for when I'm short of a bit of cash.

 

[Napster]

There's so many things wrong with this story, I don't believe it. For a start, if he had the keys, why didnt she change the lock, she had a few days in hand? Secondly, to go through all the rigmarole of phoning her pretending to be head of security.

Most crimes are opportunitistic. This is just nonsense.

 

[EastStandBlue]

In actual fact, thinking about it... This seems awfully similar to that episode of The Real Hustle with the Car Valet...

The guy posed as a Valet attendant and some Idiot gave the guy his keys without a seconds thought. The guy drove into the parking lot, then straight out and into a side alley where he ransacked the car and found his SatNav. Because most people have "Home" as a saved destination, he could've followed it and, with the keys the afforementioned mug handed over, could've easily robbed the guys house as well as his motor.

 

[BrettieAngell]

man bags! :D

 

[Hotman]

man bags! :D

best invention ever.

 

[JoshC]

I have been passed this story today. A woman visited the toilet in JohnLewis @ Blue water and hung her handbag on the back of the toilet door. As she carried on about her business, a hand suddenly appeared over the top of the stall and grabbed her bag clean off the hook!!!

She immediately reported the incident to the head of security, who in turn informed the manager of the store. A couple of days later she had a call from the head of security to say her bag had been found without her purse. So she arranged a convenient time to go and meet the manager to collect her things.

On arriving at the JohnLewis store at the agreed time, the manager was not expecting her & neither was the head of security. No one from the store had actually called her as the bag had still not been found.

When the lady got home, her house had been burgled with no sign of forced entry. The Police believe the robbers had used her Driving License for the address and her keys to let themselves in!

This is real - it isn't just a scaremongering story. Many will be so shocked at how complex bag snatching crime has become.

Was the thief tall with flexible arms and xray vision?

 

[BrettieAngell]

best invention ever.

whats wrong with pockets?

anyway it was the innuendo I was laughing at! childish I know.

 

[Hotman]

amazed the robber was able to find the driving licence and keys amongst the crap most women have in their bags

 

[Hotman]

whats wrong with pockets?

anyway it was the innuendo I was laughing at! childish I know.

pockets - unnecessary bulges.

 

[BrettieAngell]

pockets - unnecessary bulges.

right I see.

 

[OldBlueLady]

Was the thief tall with flexible arms and xray vision?

Wouldn't need to be, Josh. Don't know if you have hooks on the back of lav doors in the gents' but they are always at head height in the ladies so that bags don't dangle on the floor. Any person of reasonably average height would just need to be able to raise an arm over the top and bend the elbow down, so if you were of a certain disposition, all you need to do is keep an eye out. Really not that difficult in reality.

amazed the robber was able to find the driving licence and keys amongst the crap most women have in their bags

And if they've nicked the whole bag, they just tip it out, simples.

 

[Dave of the Match]

whats wrong with pockets?

i use one to carry my school books.

 

[callan]

Wouldn't need to be, Josh. Don't know if you have hooks on the back of lav doors in the gents' but they are always at head height in the ladies so that bags don't dangle on the floor. Any person of reasonably average height would just need to be able to raise an arm over the top and bend the elbow down, so if you were of a certain disposition, all you need to do is keep an eye out. Really not that difficult in reality.



And if they've nicked the whole bag, they just tip it out, simples.

Nonsense, unless of course the thief was a circus performer or Yorkshire blue, who has exceptionally long fngers...albeiit he informs me he usually likes to pick a pocket or two, nickng kerchiefs and the like whch he sells onto Cricko to raise money for gruel.

 

[Lester Bangs]

1974 called and wants its urban Myth back. ;)

 

[Cricko]

Nonsense, unless of course the thief was a circus performer or Yorkshire blue, who has exceptionally long fngers...albeiit he informs me he usually likes to pick a pocket or two, nickng kerchiefs and the like whch he sells onto Cricko to raise money for gruel.

Nobody in the human world has longer fingers than...FingersBlue.....I swear he a was monkey if a previous lifetime.

Hang on amo...not much has changed.

 

[A Century United]

Well covered in this article

On Snopes.Com

A variation of this story is:

Example:(Submitted, February 2006)
Please be aware of this

I don't normally send out this sort of thing as I don't like to scare monger, but it's legit and everyone knows just how easily our bags get nicked - so warn your female friends, sick minds are at work.

BEWARE

My colleague had her bag nicked last Wednesday from Pop bar in Soho.

Complete pain but she cancelled her cards and reported it to the police that night. The next day she got a call from a guy calling himself Daniel who explained that he had found her bag in the gentleman's toilets in Pop Bar the night before, he said he didn't want to hand it in the bar staff as he was a DJ and new what bar staff are like (???). So he said he worked in a recording studio in Whitechapel and asked if she be able to go and meet him at the tube station to pick it up that day. He gave her some excuse about going away for business and being unable to meet her any other time.

She's a sensible lass and decided to take a friend with her and meet the man. When she got to Whitechapel tube she told the station guard the story and he positioned her in full view of the 2 CCTV camera's and promised to keep an eye on her. So Daniel turns up with her handbag empty except for her keys and some make up. She thanked Daniel, the good Samaritan, and he give her his business card and she returned to work.

When she got back she called the police and told them she'd got her bag back. The police then turned up at the office and had a chat with her about the man she had met. The police were investigating this man as 3 other bags were reported stolen, in the Soho area, and then returned to the owner in the same manner.

All 3 other bag owners were raped, 1 in Whitechapel and 2 in their own homes after the thief had gotten the victims address and keys, made a copy of the keys, then called the victim stating he had found the bag and then meeting them and vetting them before committing his terrible crime. The web site & business card turned out to be fake and the mobile number was registered to a fake name. Needless to say my colleague has now changed her locks. So be weary about what you keep in your handbag and purse!

Such an elaborate scam that scared the bejesus out of me.

With comment:

Commentary:
I have been unable to verify if the elaborate scam outlined in this rather dubious "warning" message has ever actually occurred. So far, I have found no credible references that back-up the claims in the message. After extensive research, I have not located any news reports about crimes like the one described happening in London or elsewhere. Stories of such a cunning and devious serial rapist would make for compelling news-fodder and, if true, the mainstream media would have almost certainly picked up on the issue. There is also no warnings or information about these alleged crimes listed on London's Metropolitan Police website or other London police sites.

The criminal activity described in the email is not exactly implausible. Such a crime could happen. Criminals can and do use quite elaborate methods to lure and entrap potential victims and this may very well include some sort of "Good Samaritan" style ruse.

However, it seems improbable that a rapist would go to such lengths just to "vet" his potential victim. By using the modus operandi described in the message, the rapist would be significantly increasing his risk of discovery and arrest. The message would have us believe that he openly meets his future rape victims in public places, thus increasing the number of people who could later identify him as well as the chances that his meeting will be captured on security video. Also, by giving back the handbag and tendering a business card he is supplying potential forensic evidence directly to his victim and this evidence could later be used against him. It seems quite unlikely that a criminal would take such unnecessary risks when there were other "safer" ways for him to accomplish his nefarious aims. Surely, from the rapist's point of view, it would be much easier and safer for him to clandestinely evaluate potential victims while they were still carrying their handbags and then steal particular bags based on his final choices.

Given that the lass described in the message was suspicious enough to take a friend with her and alert a security guard at the tube station, one wonders why she did not inform police before the meeting rather than after. Also, since police were already aware that a rapist was using this bag return ruse in that particular area, it seems quite negligent on their part that they did not warn her of the possible danger at the time she reported her bag stolen.

There are many unsubstantiated or anecdotal cautionary tales of this nature that travel via email. Of course, there is often a core of wisdom underlying the somewhat fanciful tales transcribed in such messages. This particular warning message is a case in point. We probably should pay more attention to how much personal information we keep together in handbags and wallets. Certainly, we should remain continually vigilant to avoid having such items stolen in the first place. And of course, we should always remember that an apparent Good Samaritan might well have other, more sinister, agendas.

However, given that there does not appear to be any collaborating evidence to back up the specific claims in the email, I would suggest that recipients think twice before forwarding it. Spreading false or misleading information is unlikely to be helpful. Such warnings do nothing more than add unnecessarily to the climate of fear and alarm that often characterizes modern society.

Also, a real problem with forwarding such "warning" emails is that they tend to mutate over time. Even if an original version of the message did contain some factual information, this information can soon become corrupted and diffused as core facets of the message are altered or exaggerated and regional settings are changed during the course of thousands of subsequent forwardings.

Write-up by Brett M.Christensen

 

[Stats]

Was the thief tall with flexible arms and xray vision?

Peter Crouch getting up to no good in his spare time eh.

 

[Pubey]

So the moral of the story is:

1. Watch out for a 7ft tall man with double-jointed elbows / or Yorkshire Blue
2. If your keys are nicked then change your locks
3. Don't believe every stupid urban myth that you read on the Internet, espcially one followed by "this is real, I'm not scaremongering!"

 

[J]

Got this at work - biggest hoax ever, women who carry handbags - don't do buisness in toilets.. they are laaaaadies...