OFF THE WIRE
If you find a coin stuck in your car door handle, you should call 911 immediately.
Thieves will always be searching for new ways to take from others. The latest trend in carjacking is something that’s easy to miss if you aren’t paying attention to your car door handle, making it the perfect trick for criminals looking for a way to rip you off. Luckily, though, this is also a tactic which is simple to identify if only you are vigilant.
Of all of the things thieves might use to break into your vehicle and steal your belongings, you might be surprised to learn that coins have become their weapon of choice. It’s odd but effective.
Thieves are placing coins in the door handles of cars in order to steal the vehicles or the belongings inside of them. (Photo Credit: YouTube)
“Car thieves are always trying to find new schemes for getting into your car to steal your valuables,” reports Sun Gazing. “You may have heard reports of tech devices used to enter your car. But some thieves are using a less intricate method,” the outlet adds.
“There have been a rash of robberies using of all things, a penny or nickel!” the report continues. “How are they using a coin to enter your car? Whether your car is sitting in your driveway or a lot when you are shopping, the thief slides a nickel or penny in the door
A coin is found in the door handle of a car, indicating that a thief was there. (Photo Credit: YouTube)
Here’s how it works: The thief jams a coin into the car door handle on the passenger side, then waits for the owner of the car to return to their vehicle. The thief then proceeds to follow the owner home.
When the owner arrives back at home, exits their vehicle to go inside and tries to lock the car, the mechanism fails because the car door handle on the passenger side is jammed, but the car owner likely won’t even realize it.
This gives the thief the ability to enter the car through the unlocked door. At that point, they could make off with any valuables, they could steal the vehicle itself, or in the scariest of circumstances, they could wait in the backseat for the owner to return.
While the thought of criminals being able to use something as simple as a coin in your car door handle to pull off this sort of thievery is alarming, thankfully this method of stealing is easy to prevent. All you need to do is check your car door handles for coins before you get in your vehicle. If you don’t see any coins jammed underneath your door handles, then you can be sure nobody is trying to break in.
then you can be sure nobody is trying to break in.
However, if you do happen to find a coin, remove it from the door
handle immediately. This will make your car and your belongings less
vulnerable, but to be safe, you should also call 911. If you have
discovered somebody is trying to pull this trick on you, alert the
police in the event that someone is trying to follow you home.
When thieves aren’t placing pennies beneath your door handles, they
are using a new technique called “sliding” to steal your belongings
while you pump your gas:
“Slider” attacks, which consist of pulling up next to a parked car at a gas pump and stealing a women’s belongings by sliding through passenger side doors before speeding off, have been reported across the country. “They’re not looking for a confrontation; they just want the property, because they know it’s being left abandoned and you’re not paying attention,” said Houston Police Department Officer Jim Wood, who claimed most victims don’t realize they have been robbed until after the culprit has already fled the scene.
Please share this report so that others will know about these dangers. We can never completely prevent crime, but raising awareness for the tricks that criminals are using is a great way to minimize the threat of something like this happening to you or someone you know.
