Asking for directions

Asking for directions is a very common way to distract a potential victim...

Story 1:
West Virginia -- City police are working to determine if a possible abduction attempt in Martins Ferry late Sunday involved the man wanted in the recent abduction and rape of a Wheeling girl.

The suspect wanted in the abduction of the Wheeling girl also is believed to have been responsible for the attempted abduction of a Martins Ferry teen on Feb. 18. In both of those instances, the suspect asked the victim for directions before attacking them.

According to a report from the Martins Ferry Police Department, the suspect in Sunday's incident pulled along side the teen, and he became aggravated when she would not answer his questions. The report does not indicate what was asked.

Story 2:
Illinois -- Chicago Police are looking for two people who attempted to abduct a woman in the Hyde Park area on the South Side on Tuesday.

The 30-year-old woman was walking in the area about 10 p.m. Tuesday when a man asked her for directions, then grabbed her as she approached his vehicle. A struggle ensued and the woman was able to flee from the offender.

Story 3:
New Zealand -- Police are looking for a man in his late 20s or early 30s who attempted to get a 15 year old girl into his car in Wainuiomata last night.

Lower Hutt Police said the girl was walking home alone around 6.50pm when the man approached her in a car and asked for directions.

After giving him directions she carried on but a short time later noticed the same vehicle approach and stop in the middle of the road.

Police said the driver aggressively demanded she get into the vehicle the girl responded by screaming out which caused the man to drive away.

Source (1) - Source (2) - Source (3)

Shin kick

Does it hurt to get a solid kick i the shins? Well why don't you just slam your leg into something hard and pointy to find out?

Story:
Australia -- A teenage girl was walking to a school bus stop in Orelia (Perth) when she was grabbed by a well dressed man who had moments earlier stopped and asked for directions.

The quick thinking 13-year-old was pulled to within a metre of her attacker's car when she managed to break free.

"I was thinking how I could get away and what to do if he got me in the car,'' she said.

"I kicked him in the shin as hard as I could. He bent over and grunted and let go of me.''

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Fighting dirty

A University of Florida graduate assistant who was walking toward campus Thursday morning fought off a man who knocked her to the ground and attacked her.

"I chose not to be a victim," said the 23-year-old woman. "I thought to myself, 'I'm not going to let this happen.'"

The woman struggled with the man, who had first asked her for money as she was walking at about 11 a.m., Gainesville Police said. The woman told the man she was sorry, she didn't have anything she could give him, and kept walking.

"He just sort of came up behind me and pushed me to the ground," she said. "I just kept kicking him. My hands were already in the dirt. I grabbed dirt and started throwing the dirt."

When the woman fought back, her attacker let her go and fled.

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More light

Feltham, UK -- At 2:20 p.m. Friday a woman was passing a pub on foot when a car approached and the driver asked her if she had a light.

When the woman replied "no", the suspect continued to ask questions and then grabbed her right wrist, attempting to force her into the car.

After the woman got herself free, the suspect drove off towards Hounslow.

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Got a light?

This is a very common method of approaching, interviewing and distracting a potential victim.
If someone ask for a light, the time, distraction, some small change - anything that would potentially have you take the eyes off the subject in front of you - be aware!

Story:
UK -- A sex beast feared to have raped up to 20 women stole cigarette lighters from them as sick trophies, police believe.

The 43-year-old crack addict pounced on random victims walking in South London. He approached asking if they had a light — then attacked them at knifepoint.

Last night cops put on display the twisted predator’s haul of lighters.

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What time is it?

A common method this - to ask a potential victim for the time. It is a part of what is commonly referred to as an "interview", plus it's a good (from the culprit's point of view) method of distraction.

Story:
Michigan -- Pittsfield Township Police say they've identified a man accused of pushing a woman into her car and fondling her in the parking lot of a store a week ago.

The suspect, a 24-year-old township resident, was captured a few days later after at least two people called police to report his bizarre behavior near a bus stop. The callers said a man was acting odd and following women, police said.

A few days earlier, the 26-year-old woman said she was getting into her car at a store when a man approached, asked for the time, then pushed her into her car and groped her. She said she screamed and kicked him away.

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Friendliness

A common way to have you lower your guard: (too much) friendliness.

Story:
Norway – An 18-year-old female was on her way to a friend in Trondheim. She had spent a night on town, had been arguing with somebody and was subsequently walking on her own.

As she was walking, she met an unknown male. The man noticed that she was upset; he asks her for her name and gives her his jacket when she says she’s cold.

The man also asks her where she’s going – suggesting to the young woman she might want to follow him home to his place.

The teenager says no. When she tries to leave, the man holds her back. The female breaks free and escapes. Running away, she believes she has lost the man. But after a while she can hear footsteps behind her.

Finding that she’s being followed by the same person, she presses a random doorbell to a nearby residence. She shouts and begs to be let in.

The assailant grabs her and pushes her against a wall while he attempts to sexually assault her. He holds a hand over her mouth and tells her to be quiet. The intended victim, however is screaming during the whole ordeal.

A young woman living close by has heard the commotion. When she arrives at the scene, the attacker takes off.

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Dating service attack

Kentucky -- Lexington police continue to search for a man they say tried to rape a woman at a Lexington business. The victim had to be taken to the hospital after the terrifying ordeal.

Police say it's not the first time the dating service where the attack happened filed a harassment complaint, in fact one was filed just last week. However, police aren't saying if it's connected to what happened Tuesday.

Police say a man entered the business Tuesday morning. He was chatting with the female employee when the conversation quickly turned inappropriate.

Police say the woman was grabbed by the man and taken to a back room where he attempted to sexually assault her. Police say she fought back, but was hit in the head by the suspect.

The interview

Here's a great article showing what we call the "interview". An interview is part of the strategy most predators use to test a potential victim.

Story:
He was sitting on a motorcycle next to her mother's vacant parked car and he gave her the creeps. Then the ''interview'' began: "How old are you... what movie did you see... I have a son your age... who are you looking for?"

It's called an interview because how a potential victim answers the questions, through both words and body language, determines whether or not they'll be the''chosen on''.

Like I said, my daughter Danielle wasn't abducted, she failed the "interview" criminals use to choose their victims. Carly Brucia, the 11 year old in Florida who was recently abducted passed her interview.

Danielle knew what to do; keep at least two arms length from the stranger create a strong presence, assess the situation and surroundings, acknowledge that there could be danger, go to the safety of a crowd.

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Common distraction

Pretending to ask for directions is a common distraction technique used by thieves, robbers, thugs etc.

Story:
Malaysia -- He was only being helpful to strangers seeking directions but Lee Eng Fei's good intention ended with him becoming a snatch theft victim.

In the incident early this month, Lee was approached by two men on a motorcycle on the pretext of asking for directions.

They attacked him with a parang, first slashing him on the head and back. After he surrendered his money, the thieves mercilessly slashed him again, this time on the hands.

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The mind of a perpetrator

On a Wednesday afternoon last summer Naomi Bryant was walking along the street near her home hand in hand with a man she had bumped into in the local pub. A trusting, 40-year-old woman, she had invited the man back to her home but felt embarrassed when she caught sight of friends and dropped his hand. It was a deadly error.

When he was arrested two days after the attack in London, Rice told police he had picked on Ms Bryant because he judged she was "vulnerable".

Thirteen days after being released from prison, Rice was staying in a hostel for recently released prisoners in north London. After spending a night in a pub he stopped a 33-year-old woman in the street and asked her for directions. He attacked her, pushed her into a front garden and over the following hour he sexually assaulted her and threatened her with a knife.

Rice was easily found and told police: "People say rape is about sex, but this is only part of it. Rape is about power and I had power over her - sex is just an extension of it."

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Teenager fights off abduction bid

Sure, females in general can't fight back. We all know that, right?
Wrong!

Story:
A 15-year-old girl managed to fight off a driver who attempted to drag her into his car in Banwen, Wales.

The man pulled up next to her and asked for directions, but then tried to drag her into his silver-coloured car.

She knocked him to the ground before running away.

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Here are several hundred (actually 1.600) similar stories:
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