Woman Films How A Creep Left A Water Bottle On Her Car, Another Woman Explains It’s A Tactic Used By Human Traffickers
Two women’s TikTok videos about staying safe are going viral and it’s quite shocking how scary the world can be at times. Haleywestco, aka Haley West, explained what happened to her outside a supermarket and it’s raising a lot of eyebrows.
In her video, Haley from Cincinnati details her incredibly weird interaction with a suspicious creepy guy who seemed like he was hitting on her while she was parked in her car. But he might have had very nefarious purposes in mind. Haley felt weirded out, so she went to a store to hide. When she came back, however, there was a water bottle perched on the hood of her car. Sounds innocent, right? Not so much.
Another TikTok user, Ellessb423, aka Elle, claimed that putting a water bottle on someone’s car is a tactic that some kidnappers and human traffickers use. She warned people not to get distracted and to leave the bottle be and to just drive off—the bottle will fall off on its own. How Elle knows about this tactic is on a lot of people’s minds; she mentioned having been in contact with kidnapping and trafficking survivors and goes into more detail about this in her follow-up videos which you can find on her TikTok channel. Meanwhile, we’ve reached out to Haley to hear more about her situation.
Haley shared a bizarre story about how a suspicious guy ended up leaving a water bottle on the hood of her car
Haley recounted what happened with the man: “I’m leaving Fresh Thyme and I’m parked in this big parking lot. This guy was walking like kind of close to me, kind of not, but you could tell he was, like, staring at me while he was walking, and he yells over to me like, ‘Hey what’s your name?'”
“This man walks right up to my car and he’s like, ‘Come check out my car, it’s nice, it’s a Lexus, you like it?’ Like it’s my car! Though, I didn’t react to that, because that would have given away that it’s my car, although I think he already knows.”
That’s when Haley decided that she didn’t feel comfortable. She went to a nearby store, got some help, and made darn sure that the guy wasn’t in the parking lot anymore. “I then went across the street to this TJ Maxx. I got help, I made sure he wasn’t still out here.”
That’s when she saw the water bottle on the hood of her car. She warned everyone to be aware of their surroundings at all times.
“When I came back out there is a water bottle on my hood. I don’t want that to correlate but that’s never happened to me. I just wanted to say be aware of your surroundings at all times, especially if you’re a woman, be careful out there.”
You can watch Haley’s full video right here
@haleywestco##saftey ##ohio ##cincinnati ##becareful♬ original sound – Haley West
Elle went into detail about Haley’s situation and what it meant
Meanwhile, Elle explained what could be hidden behind Haley’s experience. “This is a tactic used by traffickers and kidnappers to get you to exit your vehicle and take whatever is on top of the car.”
Elle also suggested that, if you feel threatened, you should drive to a police station or even an auto-body shop so they can check to see if anyone’s attached a tracker to the bottom of your car.
“If you feel extremely threatened by a person who’s following you, drive to a police station or an auto shop, they can look underneath your car and see if there are trackers there. Yes, believe it or not, GPS trackers can be put on the bottom of your car and they can give out your location for a certain amount of time. Never go straight home.”
Now, that might sound a tad paranoid or even fantastical, but Elle pointed out that GPS trackers are a real thing (it’s not just something that we see in movies and on TV after all).
“Traffickers don’t care how old you are, they don’t care what you’re wearing they don’t care about your size, if they want you, they’ll try to get you. Always be aware of your surroundings, try to go shop with a friend, I know it’s hard during COVID, keep pepper spray or a protective device on you. Please stay safe,” Elle warned.
Previously, Bored Panda wrote about how some criminals leave messages around their potential victims’ homes. You can read about that right here.
Not all theories about kidnappers’ and criminals’ tactics are true, however, and some of them have been proven to be internet hoaxes. For instance, officers debunked the theories that zip-ties around safety mirrors or flannel shirts on the windshield are traffickers’ ways to distract their targets. The police pointed out that traffickers don’t warn their victims. That’s what makes them so dangerous.
Watch Elle’s TikTok video in full right here
@ellessb423##stitch with @haleywestco Be safe ladies. ##safty ##saftytips ##womensupportingwomen♬ original sound – Elle
Here’s how people reacted to the two videos
What did you think of Haley and Elle’s videos, dear Pandas? Were you aware that some kidnappers and traffickers might use tactics like this? Have you ever had something like this happen to your car? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comment section below.
Ok just Googled and most kidnappings are not by strangers, they are usually under 18s, aka children and taken by estranged parents but there is a huge increase in native American women disappearing. For white American women, this is not a common issue. Also, it doesn't state who Elle is and how she knows kidnapping tactics. When I google this one, just this story comes up. So I actually think that this is a scare tactic. I don't deny this happened, but I doubt that leaving a bottle on the hood of a car is a sign you are about to be kidnapped. If the man had wanted to do that, he would have taken her right there and then?
Honestly, a lot of these are spread by people who are afraid of “strangers,” those who don’t look or speak like them. Some influencer has posted videos (of course) detailing how their baby was almost kidnapped, except it turned out it was two Hispanic grandparents speaking about their own grandchildren. I haven’t lived in Europe but the US doesn’t really have a “communities are good” mindset, they’re so tribal and suspicious of everyone else’s intent when the majority of ppl just want to get through the day.
Load More Replies...Honestly, it sounds a bit like a scary urban legend. I don't doubt there are a lot of creeps and perverts around us, but sex traffickers using bottles to lure victims sounds like a really weird and ineffective tactic.
A few years ago, the urban legend featured pieces of paper on the windshield. The kidnapper would jump in your back seat when you got out to grab it. No cases of it actually happening, of course.
Load More Replies...Yeah, I'm really not so sure . . . There have been warning stories about how people are lurking behind every corner to kidnap random women. They never seem to turn out to be true. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/zip-ties-cars-mailboxes/
Kidnap, probably not, rape or even more likely rob, yes. So it's good to be aware of your surroundings.
Load More Replies...Sorry, that's NOT how human trafficing works. They don't kidnap adults from the street to sell them. Life is not a Hollywood movie. Human trafficers trick poor families into giving them their children by telling them they would get an education. They force young women into prostitution by telling them they could work as a maid abroad. It makes me really angry when people have this completely unrealistic view on crime, created from a life where they never had to face it but also refused to inform themselves.
Why would a kidnapper think that putting a water bottle on your car is going entice someone out of a shop? Why would they go out of their way to wait for a victim that clearly knows something is wrong?
This is just a guy being a jerk. I seriously doubt that this is a method used by human traffickers. They'd be more likely to haunt bus and train stations looking for young runaways than suburban mall parking lots.
Load More Replies...I don't get this. Surely if an American woman was kidnapped the police would be all over it? I can't imagine a British woman being kidnapped and it not making national headline news. Am I being naive? How many American nationals are kidnapped in the US?
You'd be shocked how many people -- especially women and children -- in the US have vanished without a trace and remain missing.
Load More Replies...Yeah.....but... what's the point of having you get OUT of your car to retrieve something? I mean, if they were going to grab you, wouldn't they just grab you when you came out of the store and you were getting INTO your car? Do they have some rule where they can't snatch you unless you already got into your car, and then got back OUT of your car to retrieve the bottle? It does NOT MAKE SENSE. They would just grab you as you were getting into your car in the first place! This story is kind of DUMB.
This makes no sense. Wouldn't you see a bottle of water on the hood of your car before getting into your car in the first place? A trafficker isn't going to take a chance you may not be getting out of your car, when you could just drive off and let the bottle fall away on its own. Wouldn't they grab you when they had the first chance? Maybe a better rule is don't park beside vans in a parking lot. Seems to me a van would provide cover and it would be easy to slide open the door and snatch someone trying to open their car door.
I don't know... this sounds like an urban legend that was being emailed around about 20 years ago. I suppose it's possible.
No, it's not possible and yes, it's an urban legend. Usually it is told in a way that it happened to a friend of a friend.
Load More Replies...Anyone who thinks this doesn't happen all over the world all the time is a moron. Human trafficking is a HUGE business, as is slavery, and NO country is immune.
Human trafficking *is* a huge global business, yes. But they don't kidnap women from parking lots in the US, Europe, or Australia. Human trafficking is mostly people being lured from their homeland with the promise of work and a better life, and having their passport taken away and forced into prostitution or slavery because they have no resources.
Load More Replies...It is definetely true tha tmany young women are considered game. When I was young I was bothered by unwanted attention and even assaults by men. But they were hardly ever hiding in the bushes or using this type of trickery. Generally, they just come straight up with their foolishness. Best defense is awareness of idiots around you, have an attitude (not looking scared and vulnerable), tell them off, and knowing how to hit with the element of surprise, if they try to get physical. I've decked a man or two in my day when they tried to grab me and I am not a martial arts specialist.
This is complete nonsense. Human traffickers target extremely vulnerable people who will not be missed (primarily people from impoverished third world countries, and also homeless people and teen runaways, or kids living in care who don't have anyone looking out for them). They get victims by using grooming techniques, like pretending to be a loving boyfriend if it's a vulnerable teen, or going to countries like Bangladesh claiming to need girls for legitimate jobs in the US - the girls go with him voluntarily then the trafficker claims the job has fallen through and they owe him thousands of dollars for flights and visas, but oh my friend has a strip club where you can work to pay off the debt... don't like it? Feel free to walk out the door but you'll get arrested by immigration and your parents will be so disappointed. There is not a trafficker alive who a) targets wealthy adult American middle class women or b) snatches women by force. That's not how trafficking works!
Why BP, why?!? You have perfectly good content most of the time why would you add this random fake stuff? If you cant think of new content, we could all use some more cat pictures, but not this.
This seems very far fetched, like almost all stories about women from America. You’d think they get abducted, raped or killed around every corner. Maybe they should watch a little less crime series on tv.
I guess i'm lucky to never have been so scared by something that just happened to me that i have to video myself straight away rather than getting away from the area!
James, not for nothing, but... Seriously. Do you always walk with your keys clenched in your fist creating a knife? Do you only use one earphone while you're out walking? Are you part of a population that has a 1 in 5 (as opposed to a 1 in 72) probability of being the victim of sexual assault? Your name is James, so I'm guessing not. Women tend to want to help other women. There were things I learned after dealing with a stalker. Yes, I shared them. If I'd had social media around at the time, I would have used it. Take a seat, sir.
Load More Replies...You know, to most europeans people in the US seem to be scared all of the time. As if fear has been so ingrained in the culture, so people don't even recognize the problem any more. Because how many women are kidnapped on a parking lot in US every year? Thing is, a culture where violence are allways on the table, and where fear of violence is omnipresent will sooner or later fall apart.
It's happened, but not usually in broad daylight, and it's pretty rare.
Load More Replies...Maybe I’m being insensitive, but something doesn’t sit right with me about this story. For some reason this woman doesn’t seem visibly shaken from this. If this happened to me, I certainly wouldn’t be still hanging out in the parking lot making a TikTok video. If this really did happen, I want to thank her for spreading the word. I don’t know, maybe I’m just reading too much into it.
I am a 13 year old female, I fear the day when something similar to this may happen to me. Why do we live in a world where half the population can't go to the store without at least a moderate amount of fear. When the pandemic ends and I can go out again I will have pepper spray and a keychain alarm whenever I go out. Be safe gals ❤
Please don't believe this story, it's BS. These things don't happen on anything like the scale that people seem to imagine that they do. Sadly, the people who are most likely to cause you harm or trauma are (statistically) people who you already know and probably trust.
Load More Replies...Granted, not the same but similar. Worked at a restaurant with a bar next door. Bartender (also owners gf) moved her car up to the front to warm up while she finished closing up. Was running maybe 5min. She thought she locked her doors with her spare fob. She either didnt or it didnt lock. Either way, when she returned to her car to leave, there was a guy in her back seat, pants 1/2 off & belt in hand. Just waiting for her. Luckily she spotted him & ran back in to her bf. They had security footage (gotten from a dif store in the plaza) of him sneaking in on the side not facing the door to the bar. We had to add extra security to the lot & were instructed to have 1 of the guys walk us to our cars at night, regardless of car location. We were then told that someone was waiting near closing restaurants & assaulting/stealing from people when they left work
You may think it wont/cant happen to you. You may think it doesn't happen in your town/city BUT i can & it might if you're not careful. We aware of your surroundings & know how/where to get out. Use protective measures if you're comfortable with it. Hubs had a taser in my hands faster than I could count...
Load More Replies...see this is one of many reasons why capitalism and money are bad. if there wasn't money in trafficking, the amount of it would drastically decrease. i'm sure there would still be a bit of it, because there will always be f-ed up people who enjoy it, from whichever side, but if there wasn't money in it the demand would plummet, same with poaching, theft, all of that.
For all of you that are saying this is an Urban Legend blah, blah,blah, on October 27, 2020 they busted the largest Human Sex Traffic ring in Ohio's History. Ohio is very vulnerable for sex trafficking because of it's 5 highways and close proximity to Canada. Scary S**t!
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/feb/29/facebook-posts/social-media-posts-issue-alarmist-warning-about-zi/
"Tell me you live in America without telling me you live in America"...That person is a naive idiot.
Urban legends, old stories, new channels. Bored Panda, please dont be a part of spreading this kind of fearinducing fake news.
This has a similar vibe to the story from that woman in Canada who found the "1f" written in the snow on her trash can. It sounds plausible, but who were the Good Samaritans who went down the rabbit holes to find this stuff out? And why isn't this information spread by law enforcement units across the globe?
The photos seem to show she and her car were in a busy area. Did she really think someone is going to grab her with all those cars and people around? She WAS outside her car, they could have taken her then, why making it so complicated to leave a water bottle? Not saying that we should not be vigilant because there are a lot of bad people out there these days, but in this particular, it looks like she just wants to get her 5-minute internet fame ...
In my country this isn't about trafficking but rather about stealing your wheels while you're out with the key in ignition.
Yawn.... trying to think of a more unlikely tactic for a kidnapper to use.
Wouldn't happen if she was armed...i dont understand why more women dont legally carry firearms..i mean why live your life being scared at every male that approaches you
It could easily happen even though she was armed, if she's not prepared and taken by surprise. I personally prefer living in a country where firearms are not in the hands of any civilians. If a woman has one and she's overpowered physically, it could endanger her even more having a firearm.
Load More Replies...Or it could be just some druggie/ homeless guy...sometimes a waterbottle is just a waterbottle. How many times have you heard of a sex trafficker kidnapping a white woman in broad daylight in obvious an upscale mall area? I've never ever heard that..and to think someone put a gps tracker on your car? Why wouldnt they just follow you? This seems like alot of paranoia..why didnt she just call the police
Why do people keep calling out Anerica? Doesn't human trafficking happen around the world?
Or....he just left a bottle on the car absentmindedly?!? Does everything have to be an a-front?
Human trafficking is much different than abductions. Some abduction victims may end up being trafficked but many trafficking victims are groomed or scammed in other ways.
I would call the cops and explain my suspicions to them from inside the store while my car is parked, keeping my eye out for the guy. That way, 1) the creep can’t jump me while I’m getting into my car, 2) the police can not only check for a tracker, they’d also have the guy’s prints and DNA on the bottle—-valuable evidence which might fall off the hood on the way to the police station, and 3) they can immediately ask store/mall security for parking lot surveillance footage, to catch his behavior around you—-and maybe other women too—-and hopefully get a clear photo of him (if the camera is decent quality). This is f*****g terrifying, whether it’s trafficking or not. Women have gone missing from parking lots and have never been seen again. No one wants to end up as a statistic.
Most human trafficking cases are from underage girls who are promised a "better life". Many times they are from an abusive home or they're struggling financially. There are times where the women are kidnapped, but most of the time kidnapping victims aren't sold into human trafficking rings, they're for the kidnapper's "pleasure".
Nah you keep driving screw the water botttle just drive and it’ll fall off if it doesn’t free water 4 ur plants
When I lived in Philadelphia, a common tactic was to leave a recording of a crying baby outside open windows to lure women out of their homes at night. Happened to me and 2 of my friends.
These kind of scare stories are just making people unnecessarily paranoid.
Worse than Final Destination and 1000 Ways To Die at the same time.
Load More Replies..."I don't know anyone that this happened to so I'm just going to dismiss the lived experience of women in every part of the world" Well tough. Sh!t happens even when you know nothing about it. No-one has to share their experience with you if they don't want to but I guarantee most women you know have a horror story involving men, from unwanted flirting right up to rape.
No, that's not about that. It's not that a woman can't be assaulted or harassed by some random creep, it's just that this whole story about sex-traffickers developing the tactic of luring potential victims out by putting bottles on their cars sounds rather unrealistic and a bit weird. There is a lot such fake scary stories circulating on the Internet, so it's reasonable that people question it, especially if something is not really adding up.
Load More Replies...For white Americans, this is literally the safest time to live in all of history. The chance of being kidnapped, attacked, raped or killed is at an all time low. Yet people have this obsession with fear mongering. With a population over 300 million, you are guaranteed to be able to put violence in the news. But the chance of it actually happening to a someone in suburban America is so statistically low, it isn't worth worrying about. There are tons of thing you *should* be scared of and ignore... while you fret about this.
There are people missing every day and we don't hear about it. News that is local is not broadcast all over unless the person is famous or rich usually. I could probably go on but someone would probably dispute it, not that it would matter. I wish things were not so during a pandemic but in certain areas it has been taken advantage of, be careful of your surroundings at all times, just because someone looks like a decent person doesn't mean they are!
Could QAnon please stop spreading this crap? I can't imagine who else wants women that terrified off every random piece of litter, or a bottle of water, or a squiggle in snow made by a kid who walked by playing, or o r or.... WHEN THEY WANT TO GET YOU< THEY DO NOT WARN YOU. Voice of experience on that one, okay? You will trust them. Disregard them as a threat. And then? You're cleaning up the blood.
It isn’t QAnon. Not whacked enough for them. No forest fires started with laser beams, pedophile clubs on the moon, or anyone indulging in a bit of baby eating, so they wouldn’t be interested enough in the “conspiracy” to pass it along.
Load More Replies...Attaching a magnet to a car can be done without giving anyone a water bottle to warn them. or being required. Just sayin'.
Load More Replies...Which will be very useful when you're attacked and knocked unconscious from behind. Now they have you and a gun to shoot you. Nice going.
Load More Replies...Ok just Googled and most kidnappings are not by strangers, they are usually under 18s, aka children and taken by estranged parents but there is a huge increase in native American women disappearing. For white American women, this is not a common issue. Also, it doesn't state who Elle is and how she knows kidnapping tactics. When I google this one, just this story comes up. So I actually think that this is a scare tactic. I don't deny this happened, but I doubt that leaving a bottle on the hood of a car is a sign you are about to be kidnapped. If the man had wanted to do that, he would have taken her right there and then?
Honestly, a lot of these are spread by people who are afraid of “strangers,” those who don’t look or speak like them. Some influencer has posted videos (of course) detailing how their baby was almost kidnapped, except it turned out it was two Hispanic grandparents speaking about their own grandchildren. I haven’t lived in Europe but the US doesn’t really have a “communities are good” mindset, they’re so tribal and suspicious of everyone else’s intent when the majority of ppl just want to get through the day.
Load More Replies...Honestly, it sounds a bit like a scary urban legend. I don't doubt there are a lot of creeps and perverts around us, but sex traffickers using bottles to lure victims sounds like a really weird and ineffective tactic.
A few years ago, the urban legend featured pieces of paper on the windshield. The kidnapper would jump in your back seat when you got out to grab it. No cases of it actually happening, of course.
Load More Replies...Yeah, I'm really not so sure . . . There have been warning stories about how people are lurking behind every corner to kidnap random women. They never seem to turn out to be true. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/zip-ties-cars-mailboxes/
Kidnap, probably not, rape or even more likely rob, yes. So it's good to be aware of your surroundings.
Load More Replies...Sorry, that's NOT how human trafficing works. They don't kidnap adults from the street to sell them. Life is not a Hollywood movie. Human trafficers trick poor families into giving them their children by telling them they would get an education. They force young women into prostitution by telling them they could work as a maid abroad. It makes me really angry when people have this completely unrealistic view on crime, created from a life where they never had to face it but also refused to inform themselves.
Why would a kidnapper think that putting a water bottle on your car is going entice someone out of a shop? Why would they go out of their way to wait for a victim that clearly knows something is wrong?
This is just a guy being a jerk. I seriously doubt that this is a method used by human traffickers. They'd be more likely to haunt bus and train stations looking for young runaways than suburban mall parking lots.
Load More Replies...I don't get this. Surely if an American woman was kidnapped the police would be all over it? I can't imagine a British woman being kidnapped and it not making national headline news. Am I being naive? How many American nationals are kidnapped in the US?
You'd be shocked how many people -- especially women and children -- in the US have vanished without a trace and remain missing.
Load More Replies...Yeah.....but... what's the point of having you get OUT of your car to retrieve something? I mean, if they were going to grab you, wouldn't they just grab you when you came out of the store and you were getting INTO your car? Do they have some rule where they can't snatch you unless you already got into your car, and then got back OUT of your car to retrieve the bottle? It does NOT MAKE SENSE. They would just grab you as you were getting into your car in the first place! This story is kind of DUMB.
This makes no sense. Wouldn't you see a bottle of water on the hood of your car before getting into your car in the first place? A trafficker isn't going to take a chance you may not be getting out of your car, when you could just drive off and let the bottle fall away on its own. Wouldn't they grab you when they had the first chance? Maybe a better rule is don't park beside vans in a parking lot. Seems to me a van would provide cover and it would be easy to slide open the door and snatch someone trying to open their car door.
I don't know... this sounds like an urban legend that was being emailed around about 20 years ago. I suppose it's possible.
No, it's not possible and yes, it's an urban legend. Usually it is told in a way that it happened to a friend of a friend.
Load More Replies...Anyone who thinks this doesn't happen all over the world all the time is a moron. Human trafficking is a HUGE business, as is slavery, and NO country is immune.
Human trafficking *is* a huge global business, yes. But they don't kidnap women from parking lots in the US, Europe, or Australia. Human trafficking is mostly people being lured from their homeland with the promise of work and a better life, and having their passport taken away and forced into prostitution or slavery because they have no resources.
Load More Replies...It is definetely true tha tmany young women are considered game. When I was young I was bothered by unwanted attention and even assaults by men. But they were hardly ever hiding in the bushes or using this type of trickery. Generally, they just come straight up with their foolishness. Best defense is awareness of idiots around you, have an attitude (not looking scared and vulnerable), tell them off, and knowing how to hit with the element of surprise, if they try to get physical. I've decked a man or two in my day when they tried to grab me and I am not a martial arts specialist.
This is complete nonsense. Human traffickers target extremely vulnerable people who will not be missed (primarily people from impoverished third world countries, and also homeless people and teen runaways, or kids living in care who don't have anyone looking out for them). They get victims by using grooming techniques, like pretending to be a loving boyfriend if it's a vulnerable teen, or going to countries like Bangladesh claiming to need girls for legitimate jobs in the US - the girls go with him voluntarily then the trafficker claims the job has fallen through and they owe him thousands of dollars for flights and visas, but oh my friend has a strip club where you can work to pay off the debt... don't like it? Feel free to walk out the door but you'll get arrested by immigration and your parents will be so disappointed. There is not a trafficker alive who a) targets wealthy adult American middle class women or b) snatches women by force. That's not how trafficking works!
Why BP, why?!? You have perfectly good content most of the time why would you add this random fake stuff? If you cant think of new content, we could all use some more cat pictures, but not this.
This seems very far fetched, like almost all stories about women from America. You’d think they get abducted, raped or killed around every corner. Maybe they should watch a little less crime series on tv.
I guess i'm lucky to never have been so scared by something that just happened to me that i have to video myself straight away rather than getting away from the area!
James, not for nothing, but... Seriously. Do you always walk with your keys clenched in your fist creating a knife? Do you only use one earphone while you're out walking? Are you part of a population that has a 1 in 5 (as opposed to a 1 in 72) probability of being the victim of sexual assault? Your name is James, so I'm guessing not. Women tend to want to help other women. There were things I learned after dealing with a stalker. Yes, I shared them. If I'd had social media around at the time, I would have used it. Take a seat, sir.
Load More Replies...You know, to most europeans people in the US seem to be scared all of the time. As if fear has been so ingrained in the culture, so people don't even recognize the problem any more. Because how many women are kidnapped on a parking lot in US every year? Thing is, a culture where violence are allways on the table, and where fear of violence is omnipresent will sooner or later fall apart.
It's happened, but not usually in broad daylight, and it's pretty rare.
Load More Replies...Maybe I’m being insensitive, but something doesn’t sit right with me about this story. For some reason this woman doesn’t seem visibly shaken from this. If this happened to me, I certainly wouldn’t be still hanging out in the parking lot making a TikTok video. If this really did happen, I want to thank her for spreading the word. I don’t know, maybe I’m just reading too much into it.
I am a 13 year old female, I fear the day when something similar to this may happen to me. Why do we live in a world where half the population can't go to the store without at least a moderate amount of fear. When the pandemic ends and I can go out again I will have pepper spray and a keychain alarm whenever I go out. Be safe gals ❤
Please don't believe this story, it's BS. These things don't happen on anything like the scale that people seem to imagine that they do. Sadly, the people who are most likely to cause you harm or trauma are (statistically) people who you already know and probably trust.
Load More Replies...Granted, not the same but similar. Worked at a restaurant with a bar next door. Bartender (also owners gf) moved her car up to the front to warm up while she finished closing up. Was running maybe 5min. She thought she locked her doors with her spare fob. She either didnt or it didnt lock. Either way, when she returned to her car to leave, there was a guy in her back seat, pants 1/2 off & belt in hand. Just waiting for her. Luckily she spotted him & ran back in to her bf. They had security footage (gotten from a dif store in the plaza) of him sneaking in on the side not facing the door to the bar. We had to add extra security to the lot & were instructed to have 1 of the guys walk us to our cars at night, regardless of car location. We were then told that someone was waiting near closing restaurants & assaulting/stealing from people when they left work
You may think it wont/cant happen to you. You may think it doesn't happen in your town/city BUT i can & it might if you're not careful. We aware of your surroundings & know how/where to get out. Use protective measures if you're comfortable with it. Hubs had a taser in my hands faster than I could count...
Load More Replies...see this is one of many reasons why capitalism and money are bad. if there wasn't money in trafficking, the amount of it would drastically decrease. i'm sure there would still be a bit of it, because there will always be f-ed up people who enjoy it, from whichever side, but if there wasn't money in it the demand would plummet, same with poaching, theft, all of that.
For all of you that are saying this is an Urban Legend blah, blah,blah, on October 27, 2020 they busted the largest Human Sex Traffic ring in Ohio's History. Ohio is very vulnerable for sex trafficking because of it's 5 highways and close proximity to Canada. Scary S**t!
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/feb/29/facebook-posts/social-media-posts-issue-alarmist-warning-about-zi/
"Tell me you live in America without telling me you live in America"...That person is a naive idiot.
Urban legends, old stories, new channels. Bored Panda, please dont be a part of spreading this kind of fearinducing fake news.
This has a similar vibe to the story from that woman in Canada who found the "1f" written in the snow on her trash can. It sounds plausible, but who were the Good Samaritans who went down the rabbit holes to find this stuff out? And why isn't this information spread by law enforcement units across the globe?
The photos seem to show she and her car were in a busy area. Did she really think someone is going to grab her with all those cars and people around? She WAS outside her car, they could have taken her then, why making it so complicated to leave a water bottle? Not saying that we should not be vigilant because there are a lot of bad people out there these days, but in this particular, it looks like she just wants to get her 5-minute internet fame ...
In my country this isn't about trafficking but rather about stealing your wheels while you're out with the key in ignition.
Yawn.... trying to think of a more unlikely tactic for a kidnapper to use.
Wouldn't happen if she was armed...i dont understand why more women dont legally carry firearms..i mean why live your life being scared at every male that approaches you
It could easily happen even though she was armed, if she's not prepared and taken by surprise. I personally prefer living in a country where firearms are not in the hands of any civilians. If a woman has one and she's overpowered physically, it could endanger her even more having a firearm.
Load More Replies...Or it could be just some druggie/ homeless guy...sometimes a waterbottle is just a waterbottle. How many times have you heard of a sex trafficker kidnapping a white woman in broad daylight in obvious an upscale mall area? I've never ever heard that..and to think someone put a gps tracker on your car? Why wouldnt they just follow you? This seems like alot of paranoia..why didnt she just call the police
Why do people keep calling out Anerica? Doesn't human trafficking happen around the world?
Or....he just left a bottle on the car absentmindedly?!? Does everything have to be an a-front?
Human trafficking is much different than abductions. Some abduction victims may end up being trafficked but many trafficking victims are groomed or scammed in other ways.
I would call the cops and explain my suspicions to them from inside the store while my car is parked, keeping my eye out for the guy. That way, 1) the creep can’t jump me while I’m getting into my car, 2) the police can not only check for a tracker, they’d also have the guy’s prints and DNA on the bottle—-valuable evidence which might fall off the hood on the way to the police station, and 3) they can immediately ask store/mall security for parking lot surveillance footage, to catch his behavior around you—-and maybe other women too—-and hopefully get a clear photo of him (if the camera is decent quality). This is f*****g terrifying, whether it’s trafficking or not. Women have gone missing from parking lots and have never been seen again. No one wants to end up as a statistic.
Most human trafficking cases are from underage girls who are promised a "better life". Many times they are from an abusive home or they're struggling financially. There are times where the women are kidnapped, but most of the time kidnapping victims aren't sold into human trafficking rings, they're for the kidnapper's "pleasure".
Nah you keep driving screw the water botttle just drive and it’ll fall off if it doesn’t free water 4 ur plants
When I lived in Philadelphia, a common tactic was to leave a recording of a crying baby outside open windows to lure women out of their homes at night. Happened to me and 2 of my friends.
These kind of scare stories are just making people unnecessarily paranoid.
Worse than Final Destination and 1000 Ways To Die at the same time.
Load More Replies..."I don't know anyone that this happened to so I'm just going to dismiss the lived experience of women in every part of the world" Well tough. Sh!t happens even when you know nothing about it. No-one has to share their experience with you if they don't want to but I guarantee most women you know have a horror story involving men, from unwanted flirting right up to rape.
No, that's not about that. It's not that a woman can't be assaulted or harassed by some random creep, it's just that this whole story about sex-traffickers developing the tactic of luring potential victims out by putting bottles on their cars sounds rather unrealistic and a bit weird. There is a lot such fake scary stories circulating on the Internet, so it's reasonable that people question it, especially if something is not really adding up.
Load More Replies...For white Americans, this is literally the safest time to live in all of history. The chance of being kidnapped, attacked, raped or killed is at an all time low. Yet people have this obsession with fear mongering. With a population over 300 million, you are guaranteed to be able to put violence in the news. But the chance of it actually happening to a someone in suburban America is so statistically low, it isn't worth worrying about. There are tons of thing you *should* be scared of and ignore... while you fret about this.
There are people missing every day and we don't hear about it. News that is local is not broadcast all over unless the person is famous or rich usually. I could probably go on but someone would probably dispute it, not that it would matter. I wish things were not so during a pandemic but in certain areas it has been taken advantage of, be careful of your surroundings at all times, just because someone looks like a decent person doesn't mean they are!
Could QAnon please stop spreading this crap? I can't imagine who else wants women that terrified off every random piece of litter, or a bottle of water, or a squiggle in snow made by a kid who walked by playing, or o r or.... WHEN THEY WANT TO GET YOU< THEY DO NOT WARN YOU. Voice of experience on that one, okay? You will trust them. Disregard them as a threat. And then? You're cleaning up the blood.
It isn’t QAnon. Not whacked enough for them. No forest fires started with laser beams, pedophile clubs on the moon, or anyone indulging in a bit of baby eating, so they wouldn’t be interested enough in the “conspiracy” to pass it along.
Load More Replies...Attaching a magnet to a car can be done without giving anyone a water bottle to warn them. or being required. Just sayin'.
Load More Replies...Which will be very useful when you're attacked and knocked unconscious from behind. Now they have you and a gun to shoot you. Nice going.
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