Robert Siciliano discusses ride-share safety after the murder of Samantha Josephson. Check the driver's plate and name before getting in, use the buddy system, and carry pepper spray or a tactical pen. Siciliano recommends security training and using GPS apps that simulate phone activity to deter predators.
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We are learning more about the murder of a 21-year-old college student who got into a car she thought was an Uber. A New Jersey town will hold a candlelight vigil tonight to remember Samantha Josephson. CNN's Diane Gallagher is live in Columbia, South Carolina, where this murder happened, with the very latest.
Diane.
And John, uh, late yesterday evening we received, uh, some more information on how Samantha died according to a summary of the autopsy report. She was killed with trauma due to sharp objects. Now, they have not gone into any details on exactly what weapon may have been used to kill her, but we'd learned earlier that she had wounds all over her face, her head, her neck, upper body, down to her feet.
So Samantha Josephson murder is raising questions about what you and all of us can do to stay safe when we're getting into cars with strangers, as so many of us do nowadays. So joining us with some life-saving tips is Robert Siciliano. He is the security awareness expert and CEO of safer.me. Great to have you here, Robert. Thank you so much. You have a list of things that we can do, and I just want to start with how frightening a story this is for so many of us, because we are now using— we're getting into cars with strangers all the time, something that we didn't do obviously decades ago. And so I have learned through this horrible tragedy that I have to always check the license plate now of the Uber that I'm getting into. Okay. Now, in South Carolina, they don't have a front license plate. So that's a tough one. You'll have to walk around to the back of the car. I also find it too small, frankly, on the Uber app sometimes to see. But okay, what else do you recommend beyond checking the license plate?
Well, so there's a number of things to do, but it's really important to understand right here and now that this is not a rideshare issue. This is— this is not a rideshare problem. This is a predator problem. I don't think that Americans realize there are 859,000 registered sex offenders in the U.S. 859,000. That's an average of 17,000, 18,000 per state, an average of 40 to 50 per town. These are living, breathing predators that live amongst us. There was an actual Uber driver in Boston that raped somebody just last week. So whether it's a rideshare or a non-rideshare, it's a predator problem and people need to understand what their options are regarding self-defense and how to physically debilitate a bad guy in the unlikely event, 'cause it's unlikely, but when and if and when it does happen, you gotta know how to defend yourself.
Well, that's a really good point. Again, as I said, I mean, we are just getting into cars, whether it's taxis, Ubers, whatever, with strangers more than we used to. And so you recommend, beyond doing all of your due diligence when you get into the car and checking the driver's name and checking the license plate, you recommend carrying a device. Can you show us what that is?
Well, you have options. You know, first of all, your brain is your best defense weapon. Knowing how to physically defend yourself is first. Second, if you're gonna carry a device, pepper sprays can be pretty good, but you take— you should take definite training on that. And this right here is called a tactical pen. It's made of an aluminum alloy. It's designed so you can grip it, and it can break glass also. Right here, that's a bad guy, okay? Right here, that's what you do to the bad guy. That's how you impale them. This goes right into their brain and it debilitates them to the point of no return. That's how you defend yourself. That's how you take down a bad guy. Otherwise, you end up as a victim.
I, I would like to believe that in a life-and-death situation, I could I could puncture somebody's skull with that pen that I would carry, but I think it would help if I had some training. And so what are you recommending that everybody do?
So there are a number of self-defense classes out there that you can take that teach you how to impale somebody, teach you how to break bones, teach you how to take care of yourself. And when you understand life-saving techniques like that, every other decision in life is relatively simple. It gives you an enormous amount of life-saving perspective. You can protect yourself and you can protect others. We live in a MeToo culture where violence has become normal. Almost 900,000 sex offenders. It needs to change right here and now from the top down.
I'm doing it. I'm going to call for a self-defense course. Honestly, I've been thinking about it for months, and so this is just a good way to light a fire. You also say use the buddy system. So what does that mean, that after some point at night, we shouldn't get into a car alone?
Look, soldiers on the battlefield, they don't leave men behind. They don't leave women behind. Never, ever separate. Look, the day that my daughters go out into the world and they're out there with their friends and they're at the bars, the rule is you do not leave anyone behind, ever. You always stick together. There's always strength in numbers.
Well, last, we're out of time, but you also say security theater. And I just wanna very quickly explain to people what that is. When you get into a car alone, pretend you're on a phone call, even if you're not. So in other words, just quickly tell us how you simulate that.
Get on the phone and say, listen, I'm in with a Uber driver. I'm in with the Lyft driver. Listen, we're going down Main Street. He's taking a left. I don't know where he's going. Listen, I just went by the McDonald's on Main Street. Something's wrong here. Maybe you, maybe you should call for help for me or hit an app on your mobile phone that has GPS in it that can tell all your friends and family of your location so they can send law enforcement your way.
Uh, Robert Siciliano, thank you very much for trying to get all of our attention this morning with your safety tips. Thank you, John.
