Photo: Dave Basner
Recently, there have been headlines warning drivers about finding objects on their car - everything from water bottles to cash, even a piece of cheese. The viral videos behind the stories claim encountering items on your vehicle could mean you are being targeted by traffickers or kidnappers whose tactic is to abduct drivers when they go to remove the stuff from their car.
Now, a new video is circulating that shows a woman in a parking lot, filming cars that each have a wire twisted around their door handle. As the clip plays, a voiceover reads the onscreen caption, which says, "WTF is this a joke? Someone better not get kidnapped."
Many people claim that the woman had a right to be freaked out since putting a wire, string or zip-tie on a car door handle is allegedly a common strategy used by would-be kidnappers. Apparently, they twist the wire or string to make a potential victim take longer to get rid of it, giving criminals a better opportunity to abduct them. Some people warned that if you see the string or wire on your car, you should immediately turn around, go somewhere with more people, and get help.
However, in reality, there is almost definitely no cause for concern. The "wire trick" was first described in a Facebook post in 2015, but according to the Poynter Institute, the police in the Canadian city where the post originated said there were no reports of kidnappings due to the tactic. Even groups against sex trafficking said they haven't seen the "wire trick" as a trend.
Four years later, there was another wave of social media warnings stemming from Texas and Michigan. In response, the Director of the Human Trafficking and Social Justice Institute at the University of Toledo, Ohio called the claims "ridiculous." Meanwhile, police described them as "an urban legend or a scare-lore."
As for what to really be on the lookout for, experts say the biggest tool traffickers actually use to lure people is the computer, since they mostly work online, or they go after someone they know. According to authorities, "Very rare is it for them to prey on a stranger."