A person claiming to be a thief in California has caused concern in residents after leaving a note on parked cars requesting money in order to stop them from stealing.
San Francisco resident Marcia Saephan spoke to ABC7 News after she found the leaflet on her windshield when she parked near the University of San Francisco.
The note reads: "I don't want to STEAL anymore! But I still have bills to pay. Can you help me please?
The note then lists three ways to be paid the money, through CashApp, Bitcoin or PayPal.
Saephan said she did not pay but felt she was being pressured into giving money or risk her car being broken into.
"I was actually a little scared, a little rattled. I didn't know if they were going to come back to break into my car or anyone else's car," she said.
"[My car being broken into] was something I had to consider every time I came to work.
"I actually adjusted the way I park and where I parked, so it did effect me, and it still does."
She continued: "I felt extorted, in some ways: If I didn't give them money, are they going to come back?"
Saephan added that she saw other cars with the same flyer on it and said a co-worker, who also received it, did eventually send money to the person who left the note.
Etay Maor, the senior director for security strategy at Cato Networks, reflected on how straightforward it would be to trace the links to find out the note writer's identity.
"Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency based on a block chain, so while it is impossible to know who is behind a specific wallet, you can still follow traces and see which transitions reach which wallet," he said while speaking to ABC7.
PayPal also issued a statement condemning the leaflet's writer for the misuse of its services.
"Any illegal behavior is a direct violation of the PayPal User Agreement, and any violations of this nature will result in an account being terminated." the statement said.
According to ABC7's Luz Pena, PayPal is taking action to terminate this person's account following an investigation.
When the San Francisco Police Department was shown the leaflet, it said this is the first time it has seen criminals take this approach to getting money.
Officer Robert Rueca also noted that there has been an increase in car break-ins compared with last year.
"The uptick, at this point compared to last year, which are auto burglaries as well as larcenies and thefts that are occurring in any retail establishment or any kinds of thefts off of a person, are about 16 percent higher compared with last year.
Newsweek has contacted the San Francisco Police Department for comment.
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Gerrard Kaonga is a Newsweek U.S. News Reporter and is based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on U.S. ... Read more
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