LOS ANGELES – A Studio City woman’s TikTok video is going viral after she says a man tried to lure her toward his car by faking an injury, and now others are coming forward with similar experiences across the San Fernando Valley.
Elizabeth, who asked that her last name not be used, said the encounter happened over the weekend as she was getting into her car on a residential street in Studio City.
“Another car pulled up behind mine—I thought nothing of it,” she said in her TikTok video. “I get in the driver’s seat, turn on my car, look over, and a man is in the window.”
Elizabeth said the man asked her to help move a box from the passenger seat of his car to the trunk, claiming he couldn’t lift it because of an arm injury.
She said she remembered reading a Facebook post about a similar encounter over the summer.
“A woman in a local Facebook group posted about this same man back in July, so I knew that he didn’t legitimately need help and probably wasn’t even injured,” she said. “It was also really creepy because Ted Bundy used to use this tactic to lure women to his car.”
After sharing her experience online, Elizabeth said the response was overwhelming.
“The video completely blew up and is still very overwhelming,” she said. “But since then, about 20, maybe even 25 women have commented or DM’d me with credible stories that they were approached by this same exact man in the same area.”
“At best, this is what he does to pick up women,” she added in her video. “At worst, he’s doing something more nefarious.”
Elizabeth said she tried to file a report with the Los Angeles Police Department but was told officers couldn’t take a report unless a crime occurred.
“It’s really discouraging because I understand it’s not a crime to ask someone to help you move a box,” she said. “But it’s a pattern of suspicious behavior, and I think somebody at the very least needs to go talk to him and tell him to knock it off.”
A photo circulating online purports to show the man, but FOX 11 has not independently verified the image.
A representative for the LAPD said the department does not have any information to share about the story.
Elizabeth said she hopes sharing her story helps others stay cautious.
“I just want women to trust their instincts,” she said. “If something feels off, it probably is.”
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