Authorities warn vacation customers about ‘jugging’ crime pattern at ATMs

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Authorities all through the nation are warning customers to stay vigilant forward of their vacation errands as thieves are turning to a preferred crime pattern to make off with fast money.

The pattern – nicknamed "jugging" – entails criminals following victims from ATMs, banks or shops in an effort to steal their money or new purchases, in line with the FBI. Regulation enforcement officers usually see an increase in incidents across the vacation season, with customers typically strolling round with giant sums of money or high-cost items.

"Jugging is simply, for my part, a slang time period for crimes of alternative," retired NYPD officer Invoice Stanton instructed Fox Information Digital. "Consider predators, the place there are crocodiles or water creatures that hang around by the watering gap, proper? And on this case, it’s an ATM or an ATM-type machine."

Quite a few cases of people falling sufferer to the pattern have made nationwide headlines, with the newest incident hanging a Texas man earlier this month.

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Surveillance video reveals the second two males allegedly broke the home windows of an empty pickup truck and stole a money envelope after following the sufferer from an ATM to a gasoline station in Houston, Texas, on April 28, 2025. (Houston Police Division)

On Nov. 10, a 70-year-old man was robbed at gunpoint as he was visiting an ATM in a Walmart parking zone in Houston, in line with FOX26.

Police mentioned the suspect compelled the sufferer to withdraw money from the machine, then shot the person after he handed over the cash. The unnamed man was transported to a neighborhood hospital, the place he stays in vital situation.

An identical incident unfolded on April 29, when police say a Houston man was adopted from a Wells Fargo Financial institution ATM to a automobile wash, the place an unidentified male suspect brandished a firearm in an try to rob the sufferer, in line with the Houston Police Division. The suspect then fled the realm on foot, earlier than getting into a white SUV and driving off, police mentioned.

At some point earlier, a person was adopted from a Chase Financial institution in Houston, the place surveillance video captured two suspects pulling up subsequent to his car on all sides whereas the person entered a gasoline station comfort retailer, in line with police. Video then captured the 2 suspects – who're believed to be the identical people concerned within the theft on the next day – breaking each entrance home windows of the sufferer's car earlier than eradicating a money envelope from the middle console.

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Johnny Juwan Clark pleaded responsible earlier this yr to the "jugging" theft of an ATM technician in Houston, Texas, on July 3, 2024. Surveillance video captured Clark forcing the technician to the bottom whereas two codefendants allegedly stole almost $250,000 in money from the machine, in line with the Division of Justice. (The Division of Justice)

Earlier this yr, a Houston man was sentenced to 120 months in federal jail after he pleaded responsible to the "jugging" theft of an ATM technician, in line with the Division of Justice.

Based on prosecutors, 33-year-old Johnny Juwan Clark was out on supervised launch for a separate theft incident when he, together with three others, compelled an ATM technician to the bottom and forcibly eliminated a whole lot of hundreds of {dollars} in money from the machine in Midlothian, Texas.

The group was working inside a Houston-based legal group known as the "Hiram Clarke Cash Group" when Clark admitted following the technician to a number of stops, earlier than approaching the sufferer from behind and forcing him to the bottom in entrance of a Chase Financial institution ATM, in line with the DOJ.

Clark stored his fist to the again of the technician’s head as two alleged accomplices stole roughly $248,000 in money from the machine, prosecutors mentioned. The group then allegedly fled the scene and met at a close-by condo complicated, the place the stolen cash was loaded into the again of a Vary Rover and pushed again to Houston.

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Johnny Juwan Clark pleaded responsible earlier this yr to stealing almost $250,000 from an ATM in Houston, Texas on July 3, 2024, in line with the Division of Justice. (The Division of Justice)

As soon as the money was transported, Clark and one other codefendant used a portion of the cash to buy an S-Class Mercedes-Benz and jewellery, in line with prosecutors.

Clark's legal professional and the Houston Police Division didn't instantly reply to Fox Information Digital's request for remark.

"It is extra of a need concern," Stanton mentioned. "And if the economic system is not going of their favor, it is extra of a motivating issue – that, and the vacations."

Based on Stanton, criminals typically hunt down victims that look as if they don't seem to be taking note of their environment when in a public place.

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"For those who give the impression that you're prey, that you're lunch or dinner by means of giving up your cash, it is solely a matter of time," Stanton instructed Fox Information Digital. "It isn't a matter of if, however when. Simply because it is by no means occurred earlier than, does not imply that you simply're untouchable – it signifies that you are fortunate."

Stanton urges customers to take precautionary measures to guard themselves, particularly through the vacation season.

He, together with the FBI, recommend customers ought to go searching for anybody who might seem suspicious earlier than approaching an ATM or exiting their car in a parking zone.

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Moreover, the FBI urges people to range their banking habits and steer clear of a traceable routine, whereas additionally concealing their money when leaving an ATM or retailer.

"Do not make it simple for them," Stanton mentioned. "Take the cash, put it deep in your pocket and go proper to the automobile. Do not be fanning the cash, counting it out when you're on the cellphone."

Stanton additionally implores customers who might discover themselves in a harmful state of affairs to easily hand over the cash if they're approached by a legal.

"For those who're in the course of it, give it up," he mentioned. "Whether or not the cash is from the ATM, that may be changed – not your life. Toss the cash and run the opposite manner should you're in a position to."

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As Individuals are taking to the shops to get a bounce begin on their vacation buying, Stanton urges consumers to maintain private security on the forefront of their minds as they purchase their items for the season.

"Whilst you’re doing all of your vacation buying, so are the unhealthy guys," Stanton mentioned. "Whilst you’re on the lookout for that deal or to purchase that costly merchandise, they’re watching you and are like, ‘Oh, I like that particular person’s style. That’s what their reward is, and it’s going to be my possession.’ You recognize, put that in your thoughts, and it makes you a bit of bit extra conscious."

Julia Bonavita is a U.S. Author for Fox Information Digital and a Fox Flight Group drone pilot. You'll be able to comply with her at @juliabonavita13 on all platforms and ship story tricks to julia.bonavita@fox.com.