This is real - Please read for your safety

[Laufen zum Ziel]

This is not subsim stuff but I feel that all forum members & their loved ones are important. Please read from a law enforcement officer....

BEWARE OF PAPER
IN THE BACK
WINDOW
OF YOUR VEHICLE

NEW WAY TO DO CAR JACKING
(NOT A JOKE)
face
Heads up everyone! Please, keep this circulating...

You walk across the parking lot, unlock your car and get inside.
You
start the engine and shift into Reverse.

When you look into the rearview mirror
to back out of your parking space, you notice a piece of paper stuck to the
middle of the rear window. So, you shift into Park, unlock your doors, and
jump out of your car to remove that paper (or whatever it is) that is
obstructing your view.
When you reach the back of your car, that is when t! he car jackers
appear out of nowhere, jump into your car and take off.
face

They practically mow you down as they speed off in your
car.
And guess
what, ladies? I bet your purse is still in the car.
So now the car
jacker has your car, your home address, your money, and your keys. Your home
and your whole identity are now compromised!

BEWARE OF THIS NEW SCHEME THAT IS

NOW BEING USED....

If you see a piece of paper
stuck to your back window, just drive away. Remove the
paper later. And be thankful that you read this e-mail.

I hope you will forward this
to friends and family, especially to women.

A purse contains all kinds of
personal information and identification documents, and you certainly do NOT
want this to fall into the wrong hands.
Pleas e keep
this going.

Thank you.
Lieutenant Tony Bartolome

Bureau of
Investigations

Florida Highway Patrol

P.O. Box 593527 Orlando , FL
32859

http://silent-hunter-addict.com

[Sailor Steve]

Interesting, but really belongs in General Topics.

[Jimbuna]

Very wise/sound advice.

In the UK it is a traffic offence/violation to 'quit' your vehicle whilst the engine is running, even for a couple of seconds.

The moral is.......If you leave your vehicle for ANY LENGTH OF TIME, no matter how short, you should first apply the handbrake then switch off the engine, taking your ignition keys with you. http://www.psionguild.org/forums/images/smilies/wolfsmilies/wolfcop.gif

[XLjedi]

:roll: Nonsense in circulation since 2004...

http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_carjacking.htm



Ya know, I have friends and relatives in law enforcement and they actually add credibility to stuff like this when they forward it. Just because you 'might' have picked up something from someone in law enforcement, don't necessarily believe it without some actual supporting evidence.

Urban Legends is an easy place to do a 5 second lookup.

[Kipparikalle]

Hmm, in America I suspect?

This advice can be usefull for someone, but not for me.

Thanks anyway

[CaptHawkeye]

What good is it going to do carjackers to steal your car right in front of you? It means their will be virtually no time between the crime and the inevitable police responce. So the jackers will be totally screwed unless they can completely repaint the car and change the plates within a few minutes. Besides, I have yet to hear of this paticular tactic being used. More than likely, if a jacker wants to get into your car quickly after you've unlocked it he'll probably just threaten you directly with a weapon.

[Jimbuna]

I can remember something that actually happened in the UK in 1994:

A guy leaves his house in the morning to find his car has been stolen off the drive.

He phones the Police and reports it stolen.

Later that day he returns from work to find his car parked a few hundred feet from his house.

There are two tickets to a live theatre performance and a note of apology stating the person who took the vehicle was dreadfully sorry but claimed he had no choice because his heavily pregnant wife had suddenly gone into premature labour and he had to get her to hospital as quickly as possible.

He called the local Police and they sent an officer round to tie up the loose paperwork.

The car owner insisted on withdrawing his complaint and the Officer in his eternal wisdom never thought of asking to see the tickets, there date, venue etc.

Two weekends later the vehicle owner took his wife to the free show and upon his return, his house had been burgled.

He once again rang the Police and this time complained most robustly that his misfortune should have been foreseeable by the Police Officer who took the initial stolen vehicle report.

The said Officer was lucky not to be disciplined.

This story is true......someone lived it :oops:

[Platapus]

wouldn't you notice the big honkin piece of paper on your car when you approach it?

Why would car jackers want to wait until after you started the car and then MAYBE stop for the piece of paper.

They would be running the risk that you would

1. Ignore the piece of paper
2. Turn your car off (which I imagine most people would do actually)

Wouldn't it be better for them to grab you as you were opening your car door in the first place?

I second the call of Urban Myth here.

Everyone should be checking their car and the surrounding area every time they get in to their car.

[Kapitan_Phillips]

:roll: Nonsense in circulation since 2004...

http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_carjacking.htm



Ya know, I have friends and relatives in law enforcement and they actually add credibility to stuff like this when they forward it. Just because you 'might' have picked up something from someone in law enforcement, don't necessarily believe it without some actual supporting evidence.

Urban Legends is an easy place to do a 5 second lookup.

But that being said, everything in that forward makes sense, and I dont see any Nigerians looking to give me their dead ministers millions :hmm:

[Graf Paper]

The Florida Highway Patrol is notorious for "legitimizing" these internet spawned myths. :shifty:

Several years ago I recall a very big deal being made out of the one where people were being killed or seriously burned when fuel vapors at the gas pump would be ignited by the battery contacts sparking in Nokia cell phones. The FHP flashed urgent bulletins to every local municipality to warn police and emergency services to be prepared to handle such incidents. :roll:

Let's not forget the flash bulletin about gang members going around putting used hypodermic needles in payphone coin return slots to infect people with AIDS.

Or the one where gang initiates would kidnap women by hiding in the backseat of their car when the victim would go inside to pay for her gasoline, then force them to drive to a location where she would be forced to service every member of the gang.

And the list goes on...

Then again, those monkeys must regard tabloids as a serious news source. :88)

Batboy and Alligator Man probably top their Most Wanted list and I'm sure there are warrants out for several aliens on charges of rape because of the women who were impregnated against their will. :p

[XLjedi]

But that being said, everything in that forward makes sense, and I dont see any Nigerians looking to give me their dead ministers millions :hmm:


OK, I guess you haven't yet reached the point where you've read the 50th one your friends have sent to you with a, "This is real" message header.

If the message header more accurately stated:
"This is not real - but please read anyway for your own safety"
Would you pay any attention to it?

I guess stuff like this just irritates me more than the average person.

Oh... and I live in Florida and there have been no such hi-jackings. They should start assessing fines to law enforcement officials who aren't astute enough to simply do a 5 second search to see whether or not they're forwarding on a silly chain-mail.

Here's a clue... first sentence usually says: "This is true!"
Last sentence usually says: "Let's forward this around to everyone we can."
Everything in between: typically fiction.

[Tchocky]

The Florida Highway Patrol is notorious for "legitimizing" these internet spawned myths. :shifty:

Several years ago I recall a very big deal being made out of the one where people were being killed or seriously burned when fuel vapors at the gas pump would be ignited by the battery contacts sparking in Nokia cell phones. The FHP flashed urgent bulletins to every local municipality to warn police and emergency services to be prepared to handle such incidents. :roll:

Let's not forget the flash bulletin about gang members going around putting used hypodermic needles in payphone coin return slots to infect people with AIDS.

Or the one where gang initiates would kidnap women by hiding in the backseat of their car when the victim would go inside to pay for her gasoline, then force them to drive to a location where she would be forced to service every member of the gang.

And the list goes on...

Then again, those monkeys must regard tabloids as a serious news source. :88)

Batboy and Alligator Man probably top their Most Wanted list and I'm sure there are warrants out for several aliens on charges of rape because of the women who were impregnated against their will. :p
Sounds like the Daily Mail...

Are Asylum Seekers eating your children?

[XLjedi]

Ya know, it was probably just someone angry at this Lt. <real name> and wanting to get back at him by circulating this silly story with his name and address attached so he'd get flooded with complaints that he's an idiot or something.

Edit: OK, here, I looked on the FHP website and you can read for yourself what Lt. <real name> thinks of his email:
http://www.flhsmv.gov/fhp/misc/News/Related/2007/FHPnews050707c1.htm

At this point, and at the request of the officer himself, I have to ask that you at least strip the guys name and contact info off of this nonsensical post! poor guy's been punished by this thing for over 4 years now...

[Sailor Steve]

We now have a new variant of the old 'War Stories' joke:

What's the difference between a fairy tale and a war story?

A fairy tail always starts with "Once upon a time..."; a war story always starts with "No $#!+, there I was..."



The new version:

What's the difference between a fairy tale and an internet BS story?

A fairy tale always starts with "Once upon a time..."; an internet BS story always starts with "THIS IS A TRUE STORY!!!"

[StarFox]

this is bogus, and for quie a long time

Just like the gang legend about gang members driving with their headlights off

Funny thing about that, I got a forwarded email from my parents about that one, signed by a local cop in colorado. I emailed him (his email was on the letter) asking he could confirm it. Believe it or not, he did a bunch of research for me and proved it was false. not to mention he was very confused how his name ended up on the letter. If ever in doubt with one of these internet storys, always check for conformation, in this case, call the Florida Highway Patrol

[lesrae]

I can remember something that actually happened in the UK in 1994:

A guy leaves his house in the morning to find his car has been stolen off the drive.

He phones the Police and reports it stolen.

Later that day he returns from work to find his car parked a few hundred feet from his house.

There are two tickets to a live theatre performance and a note of apology stating the person who took the vehicle was dreadfully sorry but claimed he had no choice because his heavily pregnant wife had suddenly gone into premature labour and he had to get her to hospital as quickly as possible.

He called the local Police and they sent an officer round to tie up the loose paperwork.

The car owner insisted on withdrawing his complaint and the Officer in his eternal wisdom never thought of asking to see the tickets, there date, venue etc.

Two weekends later the vehicle owner took his wife to the free show and upon his return, his house had been burgled.

He once again rang the Police and this time complained most robustly that his misfortune should have been foreseeable by the Police Officer who took the initial stolen vehicle report.

The said Officer was lucky not to be disciplined.

This story is true......someone lived it :oops:

http://www.snopes.com/autos/theft/tickets.asp ;)