12-year-old girl’s elaborate ploy to steal cars from sympathetic civilians revealed

An Ipswich woman has revealed how a 12-year-old scammer, who first asked to come inside her home and charge her phone, preyed on her kindness in an elaborate con.

An Ipswich woman is warning others to stay alert after a close call with a young scammer who attempted to steal her car.

Megha Tribhuvan, of Booval, said a young girl came into her garage while she and her family were cleaning it out on Sunday, and asked to charge her phone.

The girl said she wanted to call her nanna, and Ms Tribhuvan allowed her to use her charger under their supervision in the garage.

After 10 minutes, the girl said she had enough charge and left with her phone – but came back a few minutes later, saying it wasn’t enough and asked to charge it once more.

Ms Tribhuvan said the girl was quite friendly and asked her questions as she cleaned about whether they were just moving in to the neighbourhood – and she now suspects the girl was just trying to gather information.

After the phone was charged, the girl seemingly called her grandmother while still sitting in their garage.

“I don’t know if she really made a call – because we were busy cleaning – or if she just pretended,” said Ms Tribhuvan.

“She said to us, ‘Oh actually my nan is not here. She’s gone somewhere and she’ll be home only after an hour, hour and a half.’ ”

Megha Tribhuvan and her husband

The girl asked if she could continue charging her phone, but they had finished cleaning up by that point, so Ms Tribhuvan told her she could stay in the garage to charge and to let them know when she left.

The girl said she was scared because it was late and asked to come inside, which they allowed.

“As a parent, if someone is coming and asking for help — especially kids – We don’t have a second thought, we always want to help,” Ms Tribhuvan said.

Upstairs, her sons chatted with the girl, offered her food and drink and played Uno with her for upwards of an hour while Ms Tribhuvan worked.

They had left the garage open because they had thought the girl would stay down there, and Ms Tribhuvan noted she had put her keys down in the fruit basket on their table in view of the girl.

At one stage, the girl told Ms Tribhuvan’s sons that she had heard something in their garage, that something was moving down there.

Ms Tribhuvan’ sons let the mother know, and went downstairs to close the garage.

“Probably that’s the chance she got. The boys went down and I was doing my work,” Ms Tribhuvan said.

“After some time, I came out … as soon as she saw, she started getting really anxious.

“She was on the phone, probably messaging someone … she said to us, ‘Oh man, I think my nanny is here at the train station so I better leave.’ ”

After the girl left, Ms Tribhuvan asked her sons what she had told them about herself, and they said she claimed to be 16 and that she didn’t go to school.

“I asked what she does then … they were like, ‘she steals the cars’.

“I thought they were joking.”

Her sons said the girl told them she had already stolen almost 35.

Ms Tribhuvan immediately went to look for her keys and saw they were missing.

The family found the girl hiding in the dark behind their rubbish bins.

They checked the car, and it was unlocked, but the girl feigned innocence, saying she didn’t know how it had been unlocked.

Senior Constable Kerrin Sheedy

Ms Tribhuvan said her sons demanded she give them the keys back, but she continued to insist she didn't not know what they were talking about.

Ms Tribhuvan said her sons didn’t know what to do since she was just a young girl – and they let her leave to the nearby train station, before calling the police.

From their home, they could see the girl join three men, and the police arrived at the scene shortly after.

The girl started running when she saw the police, but they did manage to catch her and retrieve Ms Tribhuvan’s keys.

The police later told Ms Tribhuvan that if they hadn’t been so quick, their car would be gone.

She told them what her sons had said, and they confirmed the girl was a repeat offender — and only 12 years old, not 16 as she had said.

They asked whether any valuables were missing from their house or car, but Ms Tribhuvan said they were lucky they had removed most things from the car because it was due to be serviced.

“I couldn’t sleep last night — not because of this, but I was just thinking about that girl,” said Ms Tribhuvan.

“I asked [the police] ‘what will you do with her right now’, and they said ‘we’ll drive her back home’.

“I asked, ‘does she have a parent?’ They said no — and that really shook me up.”

The men with the girl at the station were able to leave as there was nothing to link them, but Ms Tribhuvan said she suspects they had been waiting for her and had potentially orchestrated the whole thing.

Regardless, she warned that the girl had been very strategic and a talented manipulator, despite her young age.

“She was really very smart … and she had no fear.”

Ms Tribhuvan posted about her experience on Facebook to warn other residents to be cautious — even if it is just a child.

Senior Constable Kerrin Sheedy said there were many instances of ‘sneak thefts’ in Ipswich — in which individuals break in, locate car keys, and steal people’s cars; however, she said this particular type of scam involving a young child was “not a regular MO”.

Considering the local crime statistics, she said it was unlikely the girl had stolen 35 cars as she had said, and said there was likely an element of bravado and exaggeration at play.

Senior Constable Sheedy further emphasised the need for people to always be aware of security — even around children.

She said children may well be brought up in an environment that leads them to a life of crime, and may not be as innocent as they seem.

“We’re always encouraging our community to lock and secure their cars,” she said.

She referred to the Queensland Police initiative introduced last year called ‘Don’t gift your keys to thieves’ as a reminder to be vigilant of car thefts.

The initiative emphasises the need to always lock your vehicle, fully close all windows, keep keys out of sight, remove valuables when leaving your car unattended, and to never hide keys near your vehicle — as that was where thieves were likely to look.

They also highlighted that offenders caught stealing keys or property would very likely try to scam you by pushing your buttons and manipulating you.

“If they’re caught, they’ll have a story,” Senior Constable Sheedy said.

For further information, contact the Ipswich Crime Prevention Unit at [phone].