There’s a new warning for women everywhere this week, and it’s not one we had on our Law and Order SVU Bingo cards.
TikTok user Cali Tidwell took to the app to tell people about a new human trafficking tactic that is being used on women after hearing about it on a podcast called Zane and Heath Unfiltered.
“So the girl said that she was in Walmart, and this Walmart employee came up to her, was on the phone with someone and was like, ‘m’am, is this your car?’”
The employee then proceeded to read off her license plate to confirm it was in fact her vehicle before informing her it’s about to be towed.
Confused, the girl replied that she had just parked in a normal spot.
The Walmart employee told her they were doing some work in the parking lot for Premium Employee parking and her car was in the way. He, along with the man on the phone proceeded to tell her she either needed to move her car right now or he was going to tow it.
The woman, like many of us would, had red flags going off left and right, and continued to press the employee about what was happening.
In a switch, the employee softened his tone, then “playfully” told her he wouldn’t tow her, before proceeding to flirt with her in ways that made her visibly uncomfortable.
“It took another guy in Walmart that saw him [to say] like ‘dude, she said to leave her alone.’”
Finally the Walmart employee moved on and Cali says the woman knew in her gut that something was off about the whole situation. The woman went up to customer service and tells them what happened.
She learns that the man she just spent how much time bargaining with is in fact not a Walmart employee, just disguised as one.
The store manager had her finish her shopping, then walked her to her vehicle.
@cali_tidwell Trafficking tactic to watch out for ⚠️ #fypシ #staysafe #beaware ♬ original sound – cali_tidwell
When they walked to her vehicle, the store manager used his phone to find that an AirTag had been placed under her hood.
These guys weren’t going to tow her, they were going to follow her. Out of the parking lot, home to her house where there wasn’t a general public of people to see her in danger.
Cali is uncertain as to whether or not the men had tracked the woman’s AirTag that she also had, or if they just targeted her in the parking lot when she walked into the store.
Either way, her car would have led them right back to her after she left the store if they hadn’t found the AirTag.
The manager then also informed her to use her bag or a a receipt to open up her car door because he’s seen predators who rub a chemical on the door handle that causes women to pass out when they touch it.
