Thursday, May 25, 2006

If I learned anything from Terminator 2, it was to beware of fake officers

2:35 AM 7 comments

In all my years of wearing nametags, I'm still amazed how many people mistake me for an employee. And everytime it happens - i.e., "Scott, what aisle has the work shirts? - I think to myself, "How could these people really think I work here?! It's just a nametag!

Well, apparently a nametag is enough of a disguise to fool someone into being sexually assaulted...

In Duncanville, Texas, NBC recently reported that a fake officer sexually assaulted a woman, police said.

The woman believed she was being pulled over when she saw the flashing red and blue lights on the dash of the car behind her. But she soon learned the officers were fake. She pulled over on a dark side road, and that's when one man dressed in a dark uniform with a badge and nametag ordered her out of the car.

She said the man sexually assaulted her while another man searched her vehicle.

"You trust them, and if you're being pulled over, you're thinking maybe you've done something wrong," Duncanville police spokesman Keith Bilbrey said.

"We know that we have to be real cautious now. It's just really scary that it happened around here," resident Shantay Malcolm said.

Police said anyone pulled over should stop in a well-lit area, keep doors locked and roll down the window just far enough to communicate with officers. If still worried, anyone pulled over can call 911.

Wow. Maybe being asked questions in the middle of Target isn't so bad after all.

LET ME ASK YA THIS...

Have you ever impersonated an employee?

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
Author/Speaker/That guy with the nametag
www.hellomynameisscott.com

7 comments:

Gosh, how horrendous and frightening and awful for that woman. I hope she is getting the help she needs.

As to your question........

Not intentionally. However, whenever I'm at the bookstore I usually bring a notebook and pen to write down the names of the HUNDREDS of books I want to buy at a later date. I'm often asked questions meant for employee. I guess a pen and paper have the same effect as a nametag in that respect.

It's getting to the point where asking to see a badge isn't even helpful anymore. Very sad.

As for impersonating an employee, I can't tell you how many times I've been in a craft store and had people assume I work there. One time, this poor woman followed me all over the store because she was convinced I was an employee, but didn't want to disturb me because I looked busy.

When I asked her why she thought I was an employee, she said I looked like I knew what I was doing, where I was going. The funny part was, it was my first time in that particular store, and I had no idea where anything was!

I used to self publish a magazine every other month and would spend a couple of hours in an Office Depot running off copies. Every once in awhile I wouldn't think about it and wear a read shirt. People would think I worked there, even though I was wearing jeans.

Like you often do, Scott, I just helped them with their copier and didn't say anything to the contrary.

It seems like if you look like you know what you're doing, people will ask you for help. Even though I no longer work at Target, I still get stopped, even in a black tee and jeans. I guess I just look like I should work there?

In MO they take the whole impersonating a cop really seriously. That's why those little washer nozzle glowing things are illegal here, along with underbody lights in red, white, or blue.

I've had Rebecca's experience; people think I work places b/c I look like I know what I'm doing. (Hmm, I do most of the time!) One time in Target, I stopped a woman from becoming a sucker to an ignorant salesperson. It was July in Iowa--hot and HUMID--and I overhead the woman ask the clerk if she could use a dehumidifier in her house if she didn't have air conditioning; if that would cool it off. The salesperson told her yes but I couldn't keep quiet. I told her the only way it would work is if she kept all her windows shut. Otherwise, she'd have to dehumidify the entire Midwest. She was so thankful I stepped in.

Re. fake cops. I called in someone I thought was impersonating a cop a couple of weeks ago. He was a 20-something kid talking on a cell phone flying down the highway with flashing lights in the dash of his sporty car. The dispatcher, once I explained his location, told me he actually was a cop. He was undercover and had just called in that he was en route. I almost didn't call b/c I didn't have a plate number or even make/model but I couldn't stop thinking about situations like this I've heard of before.

I've never intentionally impersonated an employee, but for some reason, people frequently think I work places. Even as a teen, I'd be stopped in the store and asked "where are the..." I never understood it, because I wasn't wearing a uniform or a nametag of any kind. I guess I must have a look that says, "I know stuff" or something! Pretty funny.

Post a Comment