FORNEY, Texas — Police are warning of “bank jugging” after a large amount of cash and a gun were stolen from a victim’s truck after he was followed leaving a local bank.
FORNEY, Texas — Police are warning of “bank jugging” after a large amount of cash and a gun were stolen from a victim’s truck after he was followed leaving a local bank.
“Jugging,” according to police, is when suspect(s) wait in bank parking lots, watch customers as they leave, and follow any potential victims they believe may be carrying large amounts of cash. The suspect(s) will then look for an opportunity to burglarize the victim’s vehicle or, in some instances, rob the vicim.
On Thursday, November 2, 2017, at approximately 1:09 p.m., Forney police responded to the 400 block of Pinson Avenue after a victim reported such an incident.
The victim told police he had just left the Chase Bank on Farm-to-Market (FM) 548 prior to parking his vehicle and going into a barbershop. When he came back outside, he discovered his vehicle had been broken in to.
The victim, in his initial report to police, reported approximately $3,500 in cash, a wallet, and a firearm were stolen from his pickup truck.
Police say bank customers who leave carrying bank bags, bank envelopes, or coin boxes are more likely to be targeted in “jugging” cases and offered the following safety tips:
- Watch for occupied vehicles, sometimes with tinted windows, parked within view of the bank’s front door, ATMs, or commercial drive-thru lanes.
- Conceal your money before leaving the bank.
- Consider using a different type of bag in lieu of bank bags, envelopes, or coin boxes.
- Watch for people following you.
- If you think you are being targeted or followed, call 911, and provide the dispatcher with your location, direction of travel, suspect vehicle description and possible license plate, and stay on the line until a marked police unit can find you.
- Don’t try to hide your bank bag in your car if you go somewhere else after leaving the bank.
- Make banking your last stop for errands but be cautious and observant of anyone following you if you are returning home.
- Be mindful of your surroundings.