South Station PSA

Submitted by [deleted] t3_10onnmm in boston

Just came through South Station and there is a very persistent middle aged man before the red line barricades who seems to be targeting lone women with a generic human trafficking pitch. Around 6ft tall, average build and a single gold hoop earring. He singled out younger women traveling alone with a pitch along the lines of “I am lost trying to get to xyz part of the city, I’m supposed to meet a wealthy client but do not know where to go. Where do you live? Can you help me get there?” Ignored every male walking by but would run after younger women. Could just be another south station crazy, but better be safe than sorry friends.

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Lumpymaximus t1_j6fs8rv wrote

Does the t have its own police? Let them know?

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ImpressiveEffect8212 t1_j6fsuep wrote

They do and they have an app MBTA See Say to make reporting easier

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oceanplum t1_j6hra9x wrote

Thanks for sharing this! Didn't know about it, just installed.

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HighGuard1212 t1_j6g0bx0 wrote

Not only do that but there should be an officer upstairs in the CR lobby. Not always on the weekends due to shortages but they are normally there

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disco_t0ast t1_j6g49j9 wrote

They do, and much like BPD, they are utterly worthless.

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muddymoose t1_j6gb48u wrote

I wouldn't be so quick with the transit police. Supposedly thats one of the more "prestigious" police departments of Mass. But, yes; I can attest BPD are worthless

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_Karagoez_ t1_j6i8akz wrote

As someone who needed the assistance of transit police last week when there was a fight on the platform, can confirm they are utterly worthless. They ignored the first guy that tried to get their attention and shushed him and went behind the corner until I went around and told them. They meandered their way to the fight where somebody could've easily fallen onto the tracks.

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Distinct-Ad5751 t1_j6njoqg wrote

acab but when I had an incident at South Station, they were all over it.

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Pyroechidna1 t1_j6hmh7o wrote

They have a blog where they report on their doings. What evidence of uselessness do you have to counter with?

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Victor_Korchnoi t1_j6hztol wrote

My bike was stolen right in front of MBTA security cameras. I’m not even sure if they’ve looked at them. Every time I called to check on my case, I was told they’d contact me if they found anything.

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Pyroechidna1 t1_j6ibosd wrote

And if they did look at them, what then? Lot of people out there trying to ban police use of facial recognition tech. In the absence of both suspect and bike, seems like there's not much more to be done.

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disco_t0ast t1_j6hrmtv wrote

You're not supposed to deep throat the boot

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toadstoolfae3 t1_j6jroyy wrote

The people who deep throated the boot have downvoted this, clearly lol

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BigHmmEnergy t1_j6gng5i wrote

Amtrak police also hangs out at south station, if the T cops aren’t useful try talking to them.

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zsalv t1_j6fyg3r wrote

please report this so its not just reddit that sees it

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Nimkolp t1_j6gc0ny wrote

Doesn’t hurt to also post it here though (not saying that’s what you’re saying)

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bjanas t1_j6fvrtt wrote

Jesus, it sounds like the beginning of a Taken script. Scary.

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DarkMetroid567 t1_j6ghvwr wrote

Excuse the dumb question, but what makes it a human trafficking pitch?

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elizag19 t1_j6gjrji wrote

Human trafficking might be too specific, but definitely in the realm of some sort of abduction. He asks them where they live and only approaches women…

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PrettyTogether108 t1_j6hulu0 wrote

The "wealthy client" info is weird and unnecessary.

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Maddcapp t1_j6i9b17 wrote

That's the red flag right there. Who gives a shit if he's wealthy or not.

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9Z7EErh9Et0y0Yjt98A4 t1_j6hrf1z wrote

It's pretty odd that "human trafficking" is what jumps first to people's minds. As if trafficking is the most likely reason a creep or criminal would accost an unknown woman in public.

When you hear hoofbeats, it's more likely horses, not zebras.

This weirdo could any of many unsavory motives, but human trafficking is not anywhere near the top of the list. That's not how trafficking happens

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elizag19 t1_j6j1dmc wrote

Trafficking happens much closer to home than I think most people realize, or want to accept. It’s likely this was just another south station crazy person. It’s also likely that this person wanted to try and abduct someone without much of a plan afterwards. It’s also possible that this person is interested in trafficking a young woman.

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BQORBUST t1_j6gk5gk wrote

There is a lot of paranoia about human trafficking, mostly from unwell people who spend too much time on social media.

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golfcartskeletonkey t1_j6gsini wrote

There are upwards of 60,000 human trafficking incidents in just the US every year. And that’s just what’s reported.

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9Z7EErh9Et0y0Yjt98A4 t1_j6hglwc wrote

How many of them are "stranger danger" abductions? Jesus Christ it's the milk carton kid panic all over again.

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[deleted] OP t1_j6hgn2r wrote

[deleted]

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Skincare_Addict_ t1_j6iewzf wrote

Girl people do not just snatch up normal everyday women from parking lots and train stations bffr

Almost all human trafficking targets the super vulnerable: homeless, drug addicts, strippers, sex workers, etc

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[deleted] OP t1_j6in8fu wrote

[deleted]

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Skincare_Addict_ t1_j6j472o wrote

And what percentage of that 10% is normal middle class people on their way to work vs at risk populations (homeless/drug addicts/strippers/sex workers)?

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Skincare_Addict_ t1_j6j4c93 wrote

(Hint: the answer is almost 0% are normal middle class people on their way to work)

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[deleted] OP t1_j6j4muq wrote

[deleted]

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Skincare_Addict_ t1_j6jb0ek wrote

Because the level of fear that people have of this happening to them personally is not healthy or rational at the moment. If you go on social media every other mom or 20 something genuinely thinks because a man drove past her twice in the Walmart parking lot he was “targeting her for sex trafficing” and posts about it warning everyone that it’s “happening in front of our eyes” and to “stay vigilant”. I genuinely think it’s important for people to understand that while yes there are dangers out there, you as a wealthy suburban mother at Target are simply not likely to be sex trafficked in broad daylight— it’s truly not a rational thought process but it’s become super widespread right now via viral social media posts. Let’s take that concern and direct it somewhere productive, worry about the little girls in foster care or something.

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9Z7EErh9Et0y0Yjt98A4 t1_j6hgxq2 wrote

Keep living in fear that a stranger is going to throw a potato sack over your head. "Taken" wasnt a documentary.

The vast majority of trafficking in this country do not involve violent kidnappings by strangers, it's exploitation of people in vulnerable positions often by people they know and trust.

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golfcartskeletonkey t1_j6hmoh4 wrote

Cool, you got any recent statistics on that?

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9Z7EErh9Et0y0Yjt98A4 t1_j6hq8kv wrote

You know, your 60,000 comment had me curious, and the first hit on Google seems the likely source for your claim.

Ironically enough, the very next paragraph goes on to describe how your stranger danger panic is entirely misguided:

>...the reality is that nearly 60,000 people are trafficked into the country every year, and the majority of those are females, trafficked for sexual exploitation.

>Another common misconception is that human traffickers are kidnappers who drive large vans and swipe unassuming people from back alleys. Again, the reality, sadly, is far worse. Human traffickers operate in public, and will use all sorts of tools and tactics at their disposal to get what they want. These efforts often come in the form of psychological manipulation.

https://deliverfund.org/the-human-trafficking-problem-in-america/human-trafficking-statistics-and-resources/

I would simply not spread bullshit about the problem of human trafficking if it were something I actually cared about, but I suppose that's a matter of personal judgement. You're not doing anyone any favors getting all worked up about make-believe instead of the real thing.

That site has some useful info, might do you some good to come out of the extended Taken fictional universe and deal with reality going forward

>Human traffickers use any tool available to them to connect with potential victims. Contrary to popular belief, these predators rarely kidnap victims, but rather employ psychological manipulation to get what they want. The following are some of the signs of grooming for human trafficking employed by traffickers.

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OhioTenant t1_j6hxnad wrote

So it's still 60k AND it's the same kind of trafficking tactics the guy in the OP is using.

You're kind of proving the opposite of what you're trying to prove.

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Skincare_Addict_ t1_j6if62r wrote

It is NOT anything like OP or Facebook posts describe OMG some of y’all are out of your minds please think critically for five minutes I beg you

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rodolphoteardrop t1_j6gq0la wrote

That doesn't even make any sense? Wouldn't the wealthy client send a car? And why can't he afford a cab with a client base like that?

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wobwobwob42 t1_j6htogt wrote

The same reason Nigerian Prince emails have spelling errors, it weeds out the ones with critical thinking skills

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Lurchie_ t1_j6ibcsy wrote

As a freakishly large male person, I would love to approach the guy and offer to help him find his destination.

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LEAKKsdad t1_j6ky2hd wrote

Brodie you 5’x tops… .. . .

Sitting down. RIP Lisa Loring

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Fluffy_Distance1675 t1_j6gc3zp wrote

how about call the police instead of posting on here

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erb2005 t1_j6gfts7 wrote

That's a logical fallacy, Fluffy. You can call the police and post here. Why did you assume they didn't?

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TheSukis t1_j6hoxw6 wrote

That’s not what a logical fallacy is lol. Man, that term gets thrown around a lot.

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dyqik t1_j6hyom5 wrote

It's false dilemma - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_dilemma

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TheSukis t1_j6i1rwz wrote

Logical fallacies occur when someone is presenting an argument. Telling someone to call the police instead of posting on Reddit may imply the existence of a false dilemma in the speaker's mind, but we wouldn’t say that a fallacy is being committed because no argument is being presented.

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Born_Ad_4826 t1_j6hwsuj wrote

Skin/hair/eye color? This might help more than height

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too-cute-by-half t1_j6i73y0 wrote

Skin tone is pretty essential information here for anyone who needs to recognize this threat and avoid.

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heather1999xyz t1_j6jm4hi wrote

Some people don’t get how this could be a human trafficking pitch which is understandable.

If you don’t get it:

Think about when you’ve genuinely been lost and asked for directions. What details do you include or ask for?

Directions. That’s it.

Something like “late for an appointment” maybe.

But people don’t:

  • ask where people live
  • ask for people to personally escort them there
  • mention terms like “wealthy client”
  • target young women traveling alone

I get asked for directions all the time, especially when the school year starts, because I work and commute near some major colleges. It’s always a question of how to get to a street or a building. They never ask where I live or ask me to walk them somewhere.

Never go to the secondary location.

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culture_war_criminal t1_j6gqbcg wrote

Great description 🙄. You posted the perps height, build and jewelry he was wearing. What color was he?

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jamesland7 t1_j6kfixe wrote

And then OP deleted their account? Huh?

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Fluffy_Distance1675 t1_j6gc2kz wrote

how about call the police instead of posting on here

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