Holiday crime fears grow as ‘jugging’ thieves target shoppers carrying cash and gifts: ‘Only a matter of time’

Authorities passim the state are informing shoppers to stay vigilant up of their vacation errands arsenic thieves are turning to a fashionable transgression inclination to marque disconnected with speedy cash. 

The inclination – nicknamed "jugging" – involves criminals pursuing victims from ATMs, banks oregon stores successful an effort to bargain their currency oregon caller purchases, according to the FBI. Law enforcement officers typically spot a emergence successful incidents astir the vacation season, with shoppers often walking astir with ample sums of currency oregon high-cost gifts. 

"Jugging is just, successful my opinion, a slang word for crimes of opportunity," retired NYPD serviceman Bill Stanton told Fox News Digital. "Think of predators, wherever determination are crocodiles oregon h2o creatures that bent retired by the watering hole, right? And successful this case, it’s an ATM oregon an ATM-type machine." 

Numerous instances of individuals falling unfortunate to the inclination person made nationalist headlines, with the astir caller incidental striking a Texas antheral earlier this month.

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Surveillance video shows the infinitesimal 2 men allegedly broke the windows of an bare pickup motortruck and stole a currency envelope aft pursuing the unfortunate from an ATM to a state presumption successful Houston, Texas, connected April 28, 2025. (Houston Police Department)

On Nov. 10, a 70-year-old antheral was robbed astatine gunpoint arsenic helium was visiting an ATM successful a Walmart parking batch successful Houston, according to FOX26. 

Police said the fishy forced the unfortunate to retreat currency from the machine, past changeable the antheral aft helium handed implicit the money. The unnamed antheral was transported to a section hospital, wherever helium remains successful captious condition. 

A akin incidental unfolded connected April 29, erstwhile constabulary accidental a Houston antheral was followed from a Wells Fargo Bank ATM to a car wash, wherever an unidentified antheral fishy brandished a firearm successful an effort to rob the victim, according to the Houston Police Department. The fishy past fled the country connected foot, earlier entering a achromatic SUV and driving off, constabulary said. 

One time earlier, a antheral was followed from a Chase Bank successful Houston, wherever surveillance video captured 2 suspects pulling up adjacent to his conveyance connected each broadside portion the antheral entered a state presumption convenience store, according to police. Video past captured the 2 suspects – who are believed to beryllium the aforesaid individuals progressive successful the robbery connected the pursuing time – breaking some beforehand windows of the victim's conveyance earlier removing a currency envelope from the halfway console. 

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Johnny Juwan Clark pleaded blameworthy earlier this twelvemonth to the "jugging" robbery of an ATM technician successful Houston, Texas, connected July 3, 2024. Surveillance video captured Clark forcing the technician to the crushed portion 2 codefendants allegedly stole astir $250,000 successful currency from the machine, according to the Department of Justice. (The Department of Justice)

Earlier this year, a Houston antheral was sentenced to 120 months successful national situation aft helium pleaded blameworthy to the "jugging" robbery of an ATM technician, according to the Department of Justice.

According to prosecutors, 33-year-old Johnny Juwan Clark was retired connected supervised merchandise for a abstracted robbery incidental erstwhile he, on with 3 others, forced an ATM technician to the crushed and forcibly removed hundreds of thousands of dollars successful currency from the instrumentality successful Midlothian, Texas.  

The radical was moving wrong a Houston-based transgression enactment called the "Hiram Clarke Money Team" erstwhile Clark admitted pursuing the technician to aggregate stops, earlier approaching the unfortunate from down and forcing him to the crushed successful beforehand of a Chase Bank ATM, according to the DOJ. 

Clark kept his fist to the backmost of the technician’s caput arsenic 2 alleged accomplices stole astir $248,000 successful currency from the machine, prosecutors said. The radical past allegedly fled the country and met astatine a adjacent flat complex, wherever the stolen wealth was loaded into the backmost of a Range Rover and driven backmost to Houston.

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Johnny Juwan Clark pleaded blameworthy earlier this twelvemonth to stealing astir $250,000 from an ATM successful Houston, Texas connected July 3, 2024, according to the Department of Justice. (The Department of Justice)

Once the currency was transported, Clark and different codefendant utilized a information of the wealth to acquisition an S-Class Mercedes-Benz and jewelry, according to prosecutors. 

Clark's lawyer and the Houston Police Department did not instantly respond to Fox News Digital's petition for comment. 

"It's much of a privation issue," Stanton said. "And if the system isn't going successful their favor, it's much of a motivating origin – that, and the holidays." 

According to Stanton, criminals often question retired victims that look arsenic though they are not paying attraction to their surroundings erstwhile successful a nationalist place.

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"If you springiness the content that you are prey, that you are luncheon oregon meal by mode of giving up your money, it's lone a substance of time," Stanton told Fox News Digital. "It's not a substance of if, but when. Just due to the fact that it's ne'er happened before, doesn't mean that you're untouchable – it means that you're lucky." 

Stanton urges shoppers to instrumentality precautionary measures to support themselves, particularly during the vacation season. 

He, on with the FBI, suggest shoppers should look astir for anyone who whitethorn look suspicious earlier approaching an ATM oregon exiting their conveyance successful a parking lot.

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Additionally, the FBI urges individuals to alteration their banking habits and enactment distant from a traceable routine, portion besides concealing their currency erstwhile leaving an ATM oregon store. 

"Don't marque it casual for them," Stanton said. "Take the money, enactment it heavy successful your pouch and spell close to the car. Don't beryllium fanning the money, counting it retired portion you're connected the phone." 

Stanton besides implores shoppers who whitethorn find themselves successful a unsafe concern to simply manus implicit the wealth if they are approached by a criminal. 

"If you're successful the mediate of it, springiness it up," helium said. "Whether the wealth is from the ATM, that tin beryllium replaced – not your life. Toss the wealth and tally the different mode if you're capable to."

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As Americans are taking to the stores to get a leap commencement connected their vacation shopping, Stanton urges buyers to support idiosyncratic information astatine the forefront of their minds arsenic they bargain their gifts for the season. 

"While you’re doing your vacation shopping, truthful are the atrocious guys," Stanton said. "While you’re looking for that woody oregon to bargain that costly item, they’re watching you and are like, ‘Oh, I similar that person’s taste. That’s what their acquisition is, and it’s going to beryllium my possession.’ You know, enactment that successful your mind, and it makes you a small spot much aware."