Popeye Posted December 22, 2021 Share Posted December 22, 2021 I have just received a message from my local Neighbourhood Watch, They are warning us about people knocking on doors and stopping people in the street on the pretext of selling them special face masks and offering you to try one on to make sure the fitting is right. The masks contain a drug which quickly overpowers the wearer and they are burgled or robbed in the street. Take care everybody, be safe and have a Merry Christmas. Regards, Popeye. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExSurveyor Posted December 22, 2021 Share Posted December 22, 2021 Please be aware that this warning appears to be a hoax that has been circulating for over a year. Reuters, Media users have claimed criminals are going door to door handing out chemically doused masks in order to commit robbery during the new coronavirus pandemic. (here) The message, which has been shared in different countries, claims the thieves are pretending to be part of a local government initiative for distributing masks. It says that when worn the chemical masks “knock out” the victim so they can be robbed. One example of the message from a UK Facebook user has been shared 1,400 times. It reads: “WARNING A new thing circulating now. People are going door to door handing out masks. They say it’s a new initiative from local government. They ask you to please put it on to see if it fits. It’s doused with chemicals which knocks you out cold. They then rob you!! Please DO NOT accept masks from strangers. Remember friends, it’s a critical time and people are desperate, the crime rate will spike. Please be cautious & safe!!” There is no evidence that this crime has taken place in the UK or elsewhere. Online searches do not bring up any crime reports, formal police warnings or news articles warning the public of the attacks. The UK’s Greater Manchester Police told Reuters that while they could not definitively say the crime had not happened without being given a specific time, date and location, they did not have ‘any knowledge of these attacks.’ The South Wales Police likewise said they ‘had no such reports’ of them happening. The message has been repeated word for word in posts shared across in at least three different countries - the UK, South Africa and the U.S. (here) (here). This duplication is a feature of chain messages, which often lack key details or any indication of source - as here. While there is no evidence of this particular crime, the UK’s Metropolitan Police force is advising the public to be vigilant around potential scams by “criminals looking to cash in on people’s fears about coronavirus 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grendel Posted December 22, 2021 Share Posted December 22, 2021 it is most refreshing to see that unlike the majority of other news services, Reuters has a fact checking department, personally I could wish every news service including the BBC could adopt this service before publishing. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
floydraser Posted December 22, 2021 Share Posted December 22, 2021 1 hour ago, grendel said: it is most refreshing to see that unlike the majority of other news services, Reuters has a fact checking department, personally I could wish every news service including the BBC could adopt this service before publishing. Probably the only place we will ever see "fact checking" and "the BBC" in the same sentence. 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeBee Posted December 22, 2021 Share Posted December 22, 2021 A total hoax..100% not true. Never ever happened. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smoggy Posted December 22, 2021 Share Posted December 22, 2021 22 minutes ago, DeeBee said: A total hoax..100% not true. Never ever happened. But now you've given the idea.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVIDH Posted December 22, 2021 Share Posted December 22, 2021 2 hours ago, grendel said: it is most refreshing to see that unlike the majority of other news services, Reuters has a fact checking department, personally I could wish every news service including the BBC could adopt this service before publishing. Better late than never:https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/reality_check Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeBee Posted December 22, 2021 Share Posted December 22, 2021 Smoggy .."Hello..Im a Broads Ranger..I need to give you a specially fitted mask, only used on the Broads".. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddybear Posted December 23, 2021 Share Posted December 23, 2021 14 hours ago, DeeBee said: Smoggy .."Hello..Im a Broads Ranger..I need to give you a specially fitted mask, only used on the Broads".. They don't need to rob us like that, they can do it legally 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smoggy Posted December 23, 2021 Share Posted December 23, 2021 Was the ranger with the face mask on his own? Must have been the lone ranger... 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hylander Posted December 23, 2021 Share Posted December 23, 2021 37 minutes ago, Smoggy said: Was the ranger with the face mask on his own? Must have been the lone ranger... You dont do jokes for Christmas crackers do you Smoggy? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelsea14Ian Posted December 23, 2021 Share Posted December 23, 2021 No perhaps the new member does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smoggy Posted December 23, 2021 Share Posted December 23, 2021 2 minutes ago, Hylander said: You dont do jokes for Christmas crackers do you Smoggy? I used to do them for Basil Brush but it was tricky to find things that end with "Boom Boom". So these two suicide bombers walk into a bar.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 23, 2021 Share Posted December 23, 2021 Love this thread. So, BBC don’t run obviously bogus story, and get criticised for not fact-checking! This is the logic that gave us Brexit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popeye Posted December 23, 2021 Author Share Posted December 23, 2021 Apologies if this information is incorrect. I am only going by information supplied to me by my local Neighbourhood Watch, obviously they have been misinformed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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