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  • 2018-02-07 (xsd:date)
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  • Are Criminals Using Plastic Bottles in Wheel Wells to Carjack People? (en)
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  • On 2 February 2018, the Facebook page of a South African private security company, CB Security North West, shared a post purporting that thieves were using an empty plastic bottle to facilitate carjackings: The post included a photograph of the purported simple trick involving an empty plastic bottle: The post was shared more than a quarter of a million times in under a week, but the claims made were far from novel. Use of an empty plastic bottle was simply a variation on a long-running theme in urban legends about crime and how to avoid being targeted by those who might do one harm. Before thieves were purportedly using plastic bottles to carjack drivers, popular iterations of the rumor held the same feat was accomplished by: The South African Police Service website has a page on safety awareness while driving, which mentions that Car jackers may stage a minor accident so they can approach your car. The page does not mention plastic bottles or any other similar ruses, however. Guidelines issued by the U.S. State Department (a governmental agency focused in part on protecting Americans abroad) in the early 2000s described a number of tricks employed by carjackers, noting that carjacking was one of the most prevalent crimes in many parts of the world. None involved distracting a driver with a plastic bottle, ring, or shirt, and all common attack plans hinged on stopping a vehicle in motion through more complex means: The State Department listed carjacking as an ongoing risk to travelers visiting South Africa, a country of approximately 53 million and which demonstrated a peak of roughly 15,000 incidents between 2008 and 2009. By contrast, the United States population of about 319 million residents had an average of 38,000 carjackings per year in slightly older statistics. As noted on a similar Snopes.com page published in 2004 (and as has been reiterated by law enforcement over the years), such tales remain illogical from the perspective of a criminal: Like related urban legends, the plastic bottle introduces the comforting perspective that being a victim is avoidable. It implies that by spreading the knowledge we're not only shielding ourselves from potential harm, but helping others learn a simple trick to shield innocent folks from bad actors. As is typically the case, we found no reports (credible or anecdotal) that anyone had fallen victim to a crime after being distracted by an empty plastic bottle. We contacted the FBI about the rumor, and a representative told us they were unaware of any reports of carjackings involving plastic bottles. We also contacted CB Security North West asking if they had a source for the claim but did not receive a response. (en)
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