Beware of New Crime Trend "Jugging"

Cops say criminals are targeting victims who have just left a bank or a luxury store in a new crime trend called jugging. The thieves then follow their target until the time is right to strike.

A gentleman by the name of Cameron says he was followed as he pulled into a bank drive-thru in Houston, Texas. The suspect had actually pulled up behind him in the drive-through and then proceeded to follow him for roughly the next half hour. Cameron says he was tailed to four different locations.

The break-in finally took place after he stopped to grab a sandwich.

After Cameron parked his car, the suspect then broke into his car looking for what he thought was a cash withdrawal. He found what he was looking for - the bank pouch. It was empty. Cameron hadn't made a withdrawal but rather had just deposited checks from his company. He had no idea that he was being followed.

Cameron said "They were so smooth. They stayed about a quarter of a mile back."

"Jugging" is happening across the country but nowhere is it worse than Houston where they have established a "Jugging Task Force."

In another jugging incident, a vicious attack left a mother paralyzed. She had just withdrawn four thousand dollars from a bank. The suspects reportedly followed her for twenty-four miles before going on the attack.

'Jugging' thieves are known to invest time in victims. Bank jugging involves sitting in financial institution parking lots and watching until they feel the time is right to attack. They will follow their victim for miles if need be and to multiple locations.

Don't Become A Victim of Jugging

Tips to avoid being victimized

• Be aware of your surrounding at all times
• Don't leave cash inside vehicles
• Change the route you take after leaving the bank
• Carry any cash, credit, and debit cards, and checks discretely
• Call 9-1-1 if you believe you are being followed

What Should You Look Out For?

Vehicles involved in jugging cases blend in very well with everyday vehicles. Behavior is the best indicator of suspected criminal activity. Be aware of vehicles that loiter in or near a bank parking lot and any vehicles that appear to be conducting stationary or mobile surveillance. Be mindful of any vehicles that appear to be following you.

Where did the term jugging come from?

Although others provide a different definition, some police say the term “jugging” came into use more than a decade ago, when Houston perpetrators began frequently stealing purses from the vehicles of women who had gotten out to pump gas at a service station.

The FBI does not have a crime classification for jugging, which the agency would list as larceny, robbery, assault or breaking and entering.

Watch: Man follows woman a bank, snatches cash from her car

The above video is from one incident of "jugging" that happened on May 19. It shows a man breaking into a woman’s car in broad daylight as she pumps gas.

Investigators believe the man followed her to the gas station from a bank in Rockwall.

He pulled up alongside her car, broke through a passenger window, and took her money and other belongings.

Thankfully the woman was not hurt.

Police did not release a description of the man but said he was driving a newer model, white Chrysler Pacifica Minivan that had a stolen license plate.

There is a reward available for information that leads to an arrest.

Jugging' has been identified as one of the fastest growing crimes in America, police say.

Source: Inside Edition