Sometimes offenders gain the trust of victims through means of deception. They use disguises to avoid identification. Deception and disguise imply skill, confidence, and desire to commit crimes. They indicate the perpetrator planned.
Ruse, Con, and Impersonation
An offender may be linked to multiple crimes by the ruse, con or, impersonation they employ.
A ruse is an action intended to deceive someone or trick them. To con someone is to persuade them to do or believe something, typically by use of deception. The offender pretends to do something in the following variable examples:
asking for/seeking directions
being sent by someone
going on date
lending assistance
looking for a pet
looking for someone
needing water/bathroom/phone
pretending to find money or other valuable
returning a purchase
returning stolen property
taking survey
faking a traffic accident
A lure is a temptation used to persuade a victim to do something (example: come closer) or go somewhere (example: get in a car). It is a form of deception.
Examples of using a lure:
Offender offered as a lure: amusement/game, assistance, candy/treats, cigarettes, drink (alcohol/coffee/water/etc.), food, employment, gas/oil/air for vehicle, gift/prize, information, money, profit on investment, romance, sex, toys, transportation, use of phone, use of toilet
Impersonation involves pretending to be another person to deceive a victim. Here are variable examples of who an offender may pretend to be to commit a crime:
blind person, businessperson, customer, dead, deaf person, delivery person, doctor/nurse, drunk/impaired, emergency services, employee, friend, God/Satan, guide, home buyer, home contractor, homeless, hurt, injured, inspector, insurance agent, journalist, law enforcement, minister, preacher, model agent, panhandler, photographer, physically disabled person, police, psychic, renter, renting, repair person, reporter, salesperson, security guard, shopper, social services, tourist, utility worker, wheelchair-bound
Since crimes, especially robbery, are sometimes committed by masked perpetrators, or those wearing some sort of disguise, serial crimes may be linked via these elements.
Mask and disguise type variable examples:
altered age appearance, animal mask, Anonymous mask, authority figure, balaclava, bandana, Burqa, clown, construction worker, hood, fake beard, fake mustache, delivery person, ethnicity disguise, gas mask, Guy Fawkes, Halloween, hat, maintenance worker, man disguised as woman, medical, police, political figure, prosthetic, scarf, security guard, ski mask, stocking, surgical, wig, sunglasses, woman disguised as man
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