Elderly Woman Used as Bait by a Rapist-Fiction!

Elderly Woman Used as Bait by a Rapist-Fiction!

Summary of eRumor:

The writer of the email claims to have been warned that rapists were using elderly women to lure unsuspecting victims and abducting the victims at gunpoint.  She says that she was in a parking lot at Target in Wheaton Illinois when an older woman in a car appealed to her for help.  The writer of the email went inside of the store to seek assistance.  The female manager came out to the elderly woman’s car and a masked man jumped out with a gun.  The writer says she remembered receiving an email warning her about this scheme and that the man with the gun was a rapist.  Fortunately, a police officer was nearby and saw the attempted abduction, rescued the manager, and arrested the older woman and the masked man.  The writer warns all other women to be aware of the scam.
 

The Truth:

This eRumor has circulated since 2005 and is not true.  The Wheaton police say they have never heard of it happening in their city and TruthOrFiction.com has not found any documented evidence that it’s happened anywhere.

To emphasize his or her point, the writer of the email chose Wheaton, Illinois as the location where this potentially violent crime was foiled.  Wheaton is a safe community not from from Chicago that has one of the best crime rates in the nation.

It always pays to be cautious, but this eRumor is either from someone who intentionally created a hoax or from a person who lives in unnecessary fear and wants others to live in fear too.

Updated 5-13-07