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  • 2017-02-22 (xsd:date)
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  • Are Carjackers Using Discarded Shirts as Bait to Lure Victims? (en)
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  • On 16 February 2017, Facebook user Ashley Hardacre published the following image and warning, claiming that abductors and thieves were employing a new tactic to lure potential female victims out of their cars: Commenters immediately pointed out that Hardacre's claim resembled warnings perpetually circulating online about various ways in which criminals supposedly attempt to lure marks away from vehicles under seemingly benign pretenses. And news outlets confused he situation by conflating Hardacre's story with a widely-reported account from an actual victim of sex trafficking. Some news reports made no effort to differentiate the victim's account of being held against her will and from an unrelated Facebook post about a woman's finding a shirt on her car's windshield: Hardacre's name was not used in initial reference to the Facebook post, creating the impression that Rosa Castillo might have been the one spreading the warning about shirts on windshields. News reports were vague about which authorities were reportedly warning women about shirts on windshields, and lacking in evidence documenting that criminals were actually engaging in any such practice. We contacted the City of Flint's police department to ask whether any reports had been filed or received about carjackers luring women with shirts on windshields, but they said no such incidents had been recorded there. Sergeant Brad Wangler told CBS News nothing of the sort had ever been reported in the area: Local police eventually determined that the shirt had been placed on the windshield of Hardacre's car as a prank and had no connection to any crime or criminal intent: (en)
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