A friend of mine called me up this morning asking if I'd heard about the new tactics being used by armed gangs in Ireland.
She went on to describe an elaborate ruse that involved gangs of men intent on stopping women at the side of the road where they will be, quote - "dragged into the woods, beaten and raped, and usually left for dead".
According to her, the ploy being used to trap the innocent victim is an abandoned car seat by the road...with a fake baby in it. The idea being that an unsuspecting passer by will stop and check on the abandoned baby making themselves an easy target for the 'gang' behind the scheme.
Fake Warning
Turns out the 'warning' she received was an email that had been passed on by one of her friends. It starts out with the introduction "This is currently in circulation by the Gardai...." and goes on to describe a first person account of the tactic.
Written in way that's designed to convince and terrify at the same time, I could see why my friend (who has a two year old herself) was worried and had in fact forwarded it to all her friends also.
To find out more about the so called 'warning' I called the Garda Press Office who confirmed that the email had nothing to do with An Garda Siochana. In fact, this wasn't the first time they had heard about it and assured me that they had no reports of any such incidents ocurring in Ireland.
If you have received the email (copy included below) and were worrying about its contents. Don't be. It's a fake.
Email Received
The following text (everything after the dotted line) is lifted directly from the email being sent around Ireland at present.
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This is currently in circulation by the Gardai....
BEWARE - Garda warning when driving.!!
"While driving on a rural end of the roadway on Thursday morning, I saw an infant car seat on the side of the road with a blanket draped over it. For whatever reason, I did not stop, even though I had all kinds of thoughts running through my head. But when I got to my destination, I called the gardai and they were going to check it out. But, this is what the gardai advised even before they went out there to check.... "
"There are several things to be aware of ... gangs and thieves are now plotting different ways to get a person (mostly women)to stop their vehicle and get out of the car.
"There is a gang initiation reported by the local gardai where gangs are placing a car seat by the road...with a fake baby in it...waiting for a woman, of course, to stop and check on the abandoned baby.
"Note that the location of this car seat is usually beside a wooded or grassy (field) area and the person -- woman -- will be dragged into the woods, beaten and raped, and usually left for dead. If it's a man, they're usually beaten and robbed and maybe left for dead, too.
DO NOT STOP FOR ANY REASON!!! DIAL 999 AND REPORT WHAT YOU SAW, BUT DON'T EVEN SLOW DOWN.
"IF YOU ARE DRIVING AT NIGHT AND EGGS ARE THROWN AT YOUR WINDSCREEN, DO NOT STOP TO CHECK THE CAR, DO NOT OPERATE THE WIPER AND DO NOT SPRAY ANY WATER BECAUSE EGGS MIXED WITH WATER BECOME MILKY AND BLOCK YOUR VISION UP TO 92.5%, AND YOU ARE THEN FORCED TO STOP BESIDE THE ROAD AND BECOME A VICTIM OF THESE CRIMINALS.
THIS IS A NEW TECHNIQUE USED BY GANGS, SO PLEASE INFORM YOUR FRIENDS AND RELATIVES.
THESE ARE DESPERATE TIMES AND THESE ARE UNSAVOURY INDIVIDUALS WHO WILL TAKE DESPERATE MEASURES TO GET WHAT THEY WANT."
Please talk to your loved ones about this. This is a new tactic used. Please be safe.
Get started NOW -- SEND THIS MESSAGE TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS AND LOVED ONES TO BE CAREFUL AND AWARE OF EVERYTHING AROUND THEM SO AS NOT TO BECOME A VICTIM.
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