Spring is in the air and that means one thing to parents of college students – moving their kid’s stuff. The unwieldy pile of treasures goes from home to dorm to apartment to home to different apartment to storage to wherever-the-heck. As the designated mover during last year’s shift for one of my daughters, I rolled up to the task in a fourteen-year-old Mercury Mountaineer with 150,000+ miles on the odometer that was the kid car during my children’s high school tenure. When I stopped for gas mid-afternoon, I was waved over by a fellow motorist on the opposite side of the gas pump. I slipped my credit card into my pocket while my gas tank filled and stepped closer to the passenger side of what appeared to be a brand new red Dodge Charger. Fortunately, I’d left my wallet and cellphone in the truck.

The following conversation took place through the rolled down passenger window between me (dressed for moving – think hobo in a beat down truck) and the neat-as-a-pin, well-dressed man in the new car:

Man: “I’m coming from the airport and heading to some faraway place.”

Me: “I’m not from around here, just helping my daughter move. Sorry, I’m of no help with directions.”

Man: “Well, I’m going from here to there…” while adjusting the position of a Bible on the passenger seat. Um…okay.

Me: “Sorry, I’m unfamiliar with the area.”

Man: “I’m short on money. Do you have any cash?”

Me: “No. I don’t have any cash,” says the hobo to Mr. Brand New Red Car. Seriously?

Man: “How about we go inside the gas station and make a withdrawal from your account at the ATM.”

Me: “Nope!” taking a giant Mother-May-I step backwards and diving into my truck. Man speeds away.
What on earth was that??? The situation went sideways quickly and I was in slow motion on the uptake. Was it just panhandling or a would-be robbery? How about how Man inserted that Bible into the equation. Combining the Good Book with a request for help seemed like a practiced technique to ensnare the unsuspecting. Getting invited to an ATM was a first for me. I was left wondering why the man picked me, someone who appeared to be the opposite of prosperous. I also wondered what would have happened if I had my wallet in my hand.

In hindsight, there are two things I did right. (1) I didn’t get too close to the car. I was close enough to hear but not within harming/grabbing distance. When my flight instinct finally kicked in, I didn’t have far to go to get to the safety of my tank-like truck. (2) I left my wallet, cellphone and any valuables in the truck. I was hands-free. I had nothing to steal on my person but the credit card tucked into my pocket, of which Man was probably unaware, and could disable the credit card with a quick phone call to the issuing bank, if needed.

The best way to prevent a wallet and/or valuables getting stolen is to not carry them. TheMoneySkinny recommends that one only carries what is needed for the task at hand. Leave a wallet at home or in a safe place in a vehicle.

The only thing needed at a gas pump is a payment method. I worked with a woman who suffered a broken arm in a grocery store parking lot when she scuffled with a purse snatcher and my co-worker wouldn’t let go of her handbag. A very sad story was in the local news about an elderly man that had been pushed to the ground and his wallet stolen while doing yardwork. He too suffered broken bones. Better to make yourself less of a target by only carrying what is absolutely necessary. For the aforementioned co-eds, slip that old junker phone into your backpack. That way should a thief demand your phone, you can hand the junker phone over without hesitation and get the heck out of there.

• Only carry what is needed. Leave a wallet at home or in a safe place in a vehicle.
• For co-eds, slip that old junker phone into your backpack so that if a thief demands your phone, you can hand the junker phone over without hesitation.