Orange County Authorities Warn of ‘Hugging’ Jewelry Thieves

Local law enforcement is warning residents of a new robbery trend in Orange County, California—where strangers offer a hug, only to steal jewelry. In one such incident, deputies from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department responded to a home in Rancho Santa Margarita July 2 regarding a robbery. The victim reported that a man and woman were sitting in a parked car in his driveway, and when the woman got out, she approached him and attempted to give him a hug—then she “forcefully removed” his gold necklace, the sheriff’s department said in a statement. By the time police arrived, the man and woman had left the scene....