With all of the talk about the increasing Dallas crime rate, our neighborhood crime watch circulated reports about a couple of ongoing scams that can have dangerous implications (a few of you have pointed out the "urban legend" aspect of this deal, but if I received it from my neighborhood crime watch, it could be true, right?):
1) You hop in your car in a parking lot, start the engine and begin backing out of your space. Then you notice a piece of paper taped to the middle of the rear window. You put the car in park, leave it running, and hop out to remove the paper. Carjackers jump you, snag the running car and its contents (maybe your purse, briefcase, etc.) and take off. Moral: If this happens to you, leave the paper on the window and keep going. Quickly.
2) Your license plate is stolen from your car. The next thing you know, you’re getting a call from police about how a car with your license plate was reported to have filled up with gasoline at a service station and then left without paying. What can you do? Report the theft to the police if your plate is stolen. That’s about all you can do.
When the going get tough economically, the criminals not only get going — they become more creative. If you know of any other scams that might help Back Talk readers, let us know.
