This is a hoax. It first appeared in 2002.
This is a typical hoax, as it uses a well known news service
companies name to 'add credibility' to the outrageous and fictitious story.
New Mall Crime
From the AP news wire.
Don't be surprised to see a naked woman walking
out of a shopping mall
restroom. The latest scam being perpetrated in our nations shopping malls is
not the cost of gourmet ice cream cones or Harry Potter collectible figurines.
With what is being called amazing regularity, victims of this new crime wave
have been found walking out of shopping mall restrooms completely naked. This
has almost always been done by men to women, with a few exceptions.
The way the scam works is, a man slips into a women's restroom and sneaks into
a stall. He waits until there is only one woman in the restroom in a
neighboring stall. The criminal then stands on the toilet and points a hand
gun into the next stall, demanding the woman's valuables.
After getting her cash and jewelry, he demands that she remove all of her
clothing and kick them out of the stall. The thief tosses the clothing into a
shopping bag, hangs an out of order sign on the restroom door, and slips back
into the mall. The out of order sign ensures no one will soon come to the
woman's rescue. It usually takes an hour or two for the woman to work up the
nerve to leave the restroom in the nude, giving the criminal ample time to
make his get away. The woman is left naked and humiliated in a mall full of
strangers.
The best defense, say police, is to never go into a shopping mall restroom
alone, as only women who are by themselves are targeted.
PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW. This has so far been a nearly
perfect crime, as none of the perpetrators have been caught.
Don't let this happen to another woman.
If you receive a message about this then please ignore it and don't pass it on as this only serves to propagate
it.