Frisco Police Warn Community About 'Bank Jugging' And How To Keep From Becoming A Victim
FRISCO, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - Frisco Police are warning residents and businesses about a crime they're seeing more of these days.
It's called bank jugging.
"We've seen an uptick in the last year, criminals specifically targeting banks," said Sgt. Demhetric Freeney who oversees property crimes investigations.
He said the scheme starts at the bank.
Thieves often wait in their vehicles and watch who goes in and leaves with a bag of cash.
Surveillance video provided by the department showed one example of how it works.
A man can be seen parking his pick-up truck after withdrawing a large amount of cash.
Police said he left the bank bag it in his truck when he stopped to get a bite to eat.
Then two men in a SUV approach his truck.
They had spotted him at the bank and followed him.
One of the suspects in the SUV got out and knocked-out the truck's window, grabbed the bag of cash, and then they took off.
Police say they've received 26 reports of bank jugging this year alone with losses so far totaling $55,000.
Sgt. Freeney said the victims often don't realize they've been followed.
"That's why we want to bring this awareness because the victims are not aware of this bank jugging if they're aware of it, they can be more vigilant going about their daily routine."
This isn't new to Texas, but Sgt. Freeney said they're seeing it in their city more often now and they're not alone.
"We're working with all surrounding agencies because we're all facing the same problem with this issue right now."
He said the criminals can be hard to track, and that's because the getaway vehicles are often rental cars.
"They're well researched when they start this. They definitely know what they're doing."
Frisco police are spreading the word on social media, and they recommend people monitor their surroundings, conceal money or bags of cash before leaving a bank, and not to keep that in their vehicle.
Police say if drivers think they're being followed, they should call 911.
