Random Public Service Post

[same_difference]

Information gleamed from my mother's work (who are very good at warning about this sort of thing, well anything actually):

There's a new scam that started in Devon but will probably spread. People are approaching women in car parks, etc, apparently selling cheap perfume, and getting people to smell it to see what they think. The perfume is actually ether rendering the unfortunate victim unconscious, after which they proceed to rob them off anything of value.

I have also been informed by my Dad that ether smells strong so you be able to smell it from some distance away.

Not that I believe anyone on my friends list is stupid enough to fall for this, but I posted just in case.

Edit: As has ben pointed out to me this was a hoax, in future I'll double check all such warnings regardless of where they come from, before I post them.

Comments

Public Disservice

[almosthonest.livejournal.com]

Heya! Just a suggestion, but a great site to use these days is www.snopes.com - they do a good job of rounding up and debunking (or sometimes confirming) urban legends. In this case:
http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/perfume.asp

I'm afraid it's just scare-mongering.
It's worth checking here when pondering whether to circulate scare stories further.

Re: Public Disservice

[same-difference.livejournal.com]

Thanks for that.

Considering the information I was passing on from my mum was something a national bank felt necessary to warn staff about, I hadn't considered the possibility it was a hoax.

Re: Public Disservice

[almosthonest.livejournal.com]

-nods- The true either a) horror or b) realisation that people everywhere are just human, is when your IT department start forwarding virus hoaxes. -facepalm-