Warning emails after Delhi Gang-rape

After the Delhi Gang-rape incident, emails are flying, some of them hoax and many of them not credible. Here are a few things which have been discussed by “Hoax- Slayer”. So, please exercise caution before forwarding such information.

As per “Hoax-Slayer”:

There are no credible police or media reports that support the claims in the message. In fact, there is no evidence at all that such crimes are actually being committed. The warning is just a variation of a series of gang related urban legends that have no basis in fact.

One message reads like this:

Another Message:

Subject: Be Careful

Sheriffs Department Warning!

This is from the County Sheriffs Department, please read this message very carefully:

This message is for any lady who goes to work, college or school or even Driving or walking the streets alone. If you find a young person crying on the road, who shows you their address and is asking you to take them to that Address, take that child to the POLICE STATION!!

No matter what you do, DON'T go to that address. This is a new way for gang members (MS13) to rape women.

Please forward this message to all ladies & guys so that they can inform their sisters & friends and family. Please don't feel shy to forward this message. Our 1 message may save a life.

Published by CNN & FOX NEWS (Please circulate)..

**Please DO NOT IGNORE! Thank you!

In essence, the warning is just another incarnation of an old “gang violence” urban legend that has taken many forms over many years. A similar warning falsely claims that gang members are placing infant car seats containing fake babies on the sides of rural roads as a means of tricking potential victims into stopping their cars so that gang members can rape and rob them as part of an initiation.
Another version tells the tale of a violent rapist who disguises himself as a helpful old woman who guards a car with a broken window until his female victim returns and offers him a lift. Other variants of the tale have warned of gang members intent on rape who hide in the back seat of cars while their victim pays for fuel at a service station and an evil killer disguised as a good Samaritan who variously changes a flat tyre for his woman victim before asking for a lift or tries to return a dropped five dollar note as a means of gaining access to his victim’s vehicle. Yet another variant falsely suggests that a serial killer is using a recording of a crying baby to lure potential victims out of their houses.
Are attacks like the ones described in these stories possible? Well, yes, violent criminals use many different methods to abduct and attack their victims and it is certainly not impossible that crimes similar to the ones described above have occurred at some point in time, somewhere in the world. If you are confronted with an unusual situation or one that just does not “feel right”, then by all means you should go with your gut instinct and exercise caution. If you do encounter a lost child isolated on the side of the road, it would probably be wiser to contact police rather than take the child home both for the child’s safety and that of your own.

However, the bottom line is that the widespread and planned campaign of rape warned of in this message is simply not happening. Thus, sending on this warning will achieve nothing other than to spread unnecessary fear and alarm among communities and potentially distract recipients from watching out for much more credible threats.

(Courtesy: Hoax-Slayer.com)