In the past few years, social media has exploded with warnings about predators who supposedly use crafty methods to identify their victims. Reports have flooded in about alarming tactics, like leaving zip ties on car door handles, placing plastic water bottles in hubcaps, or even lurking on the hoods of vehicles!
Authorities insist that these tales are just “urban legends,” but it’s always smart to be informed and prepared.
Let’s take a closer look at a frightening encounter one woman had when she found a mysterious water bottle on her car!
After a bizarre incident in a parking lot, TikTok user Haley West began sharing her story to warn others about potential dangers and “kidnapper tactics.”
Haley was shopping in a Cincinnati supermarket when her unsettling experience unfolded. As she made her way back to her car, she noticed a man acting suspiciously close to her. “I’m literally shaking right now. The weirdest s**t just happened to me. I’m leaving Fresh Thyme, and I’m parked in this huge parking lot,” she expressed in her TikTok video, her voice shaking with fear.
She described how the man seemed to be walking alongside her, making her extremely uncomfortable. “He was kind of close to me but also not, and you could just feel him staring at me while he walked. Then he yelled, ‘Hey, what’s your name?’ I ignored him and kept walking, but he just kept following me.”
Ignoring him didn’t deter the man; he persisted in trailing her through the lot.
Finally, he approached her car, saying, “Come check out my car; it’s nice, it’s a Lexus. You like it?” Haley’s heart raced. “I didn’t react because I didn’t want him to know it was my car, but I think he already knew.”
Instead of jumping into her vehicle, she held onto her shopping bags tightly and made a quick decision to walk across the street until she felt it was safe to return. When she approached her car again, her stomach dropped at what she saw—a water bottle sitting on the hood. “I don’t know if the two correlate, but it’s never happened to me… I gotta get out of here,” she said, panic setting in.
Before signing off, she issued a critical warning: “Harpers Point, Cincinnati, just be aware of your surroundings at all times, especially if you’re a woman. Be careful out there!”
After her video went viral, a viewer left a chilling comment in a now-deleted response. “This is a tactic used by traffickers and kidnappers to get you to exit your vehicle… If you come back and find something on the hood of your car, leave it there and drive away. It’ll fall off on its own.”
Despite the swirl of fear surrounding these tactics online, law enforcement is eager to address the issue. They argue that the idea of tagging victims is not a typical method used by criminals. After a viral post warning about zip tie traps, Michigan State Police stepped in to clarify the misinformation.
“It’s essentially like an urban legend or a scare-lore,” Lt. Brian Oleksyk told news station WILX10. He discussed other myths, like a flannel shirt on a car windshield or an elastic band on a side mirror.
“Criminals don’t warn their victims. This is not how it’s done. It’s very rare for them to prey on a stranger. These kinds of stories slow us down from investigating real crimes. We have to prove that it’s a false hoax and that it has no basis in reality.”
What do you think about this creepy trend of criminals tagging belongings to identify victims? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
