2017 Tink Bib Thief Article

[ANIM8R]

Interesting bit of research done by the site.

We've all had to present photo IDs when picking up our bib. Did this "Patty" have a co-conspirator? Exactly how did this happen? I find it funny that Patty was so sure that she would be able to obtain a bib that she had a costume planned and ready to go?!?! That's hutz-pah!

https://www.marathoninvestigation.com/2017/05/bib-thief-disney.html

 

[camaker]

It was very interesting to watch that situation blow up in real time. The majority of the data that the Marathon Investigation site references was sleuthed out by people on rD Facebook groups, who ID'd the lady involved (who turned out also to be a member of the FB group) and found out a lot of her personal info. It got pretty ugly.

 

[2Tiggies]

She wasn't brave enough to steal a marathon bib

Seriously, this makes you think doesn't it? Do you think that the shorter distances are more likely targets for problems like this? My opening comment wasn't to make light of the situation - I would be SO ticked! But if you wanted to risk being able to run vs not being able to run, a 5K or 10K is still a realistic distance to grab and still make it in time to get the medal.

I agree, something is really weird about this. No ID presented? How does that even happen?

I'm very cautious of not posting my bib fully before an event, but that doesn't seem to be the issue here as the bib couldn't be posted since it hadn't been collected yet. Apps like RaceJoy do however, show the bib name and the runner stats a few days prior to the race and online results pages give enough information that it's not THAT hard to do some searches and find some photos. Sounds like a really awful way of saving a few bucks. I want to know when I'm signed up that I'm going to be running the race!

 

[FelisLachesis]

Apps like RaceJoy do however, show the bib name and the runner stats a few days prior to the race and online results pages give enough information that it's not THAT hard to do some searches and find some photos.

Oh goodness. This actually scares me. I was doing some searches for a race in Philly a couple weeks ago, The Broad Street Run 10 mile race, and everyone's Bib number, name, City and state were listed. If I can find one birthday, then there's a way of possibly getting a bib while saying "I forgot my ID"...

Yikes.

 

[bumbershoot]

She wasn't brave enough to steal a marathon bib

? There's no full marathon at Tink, and the article shows that she did a marathon without being registered for it...just not the January WDW marathon.

I'm very cautious of not posting my bib fully before an event, but that doesn't seem to be the issue here as the bib couldn't be posted since it hadn't been collected yet.

Once the waivers come out, we have our bib numbers.


This was discussed on the Hogwarts Running Club page. People do weird things. When we were planning our wedding, I did most of it online, and talked online to other brides (b/c my mom was dead and my friends had gotten married 10 years prior, their moms arranged their weddings, and they could NOT understand how hard simple decisions like flowers were for me). And more than once some vindictive jerk called to cancel key parts of weddings of other brides. Once you give out a certain amount of info, even if you think you're trickling the info (and brides and runners never do trickle info...they blast the info into the ether), people can figure things out. It's entirely possible the woman went to the waiver site, used the other woman's name, and just started working her way through the calendar to get her bib info. Now, how she GOT the bib with no ID is the question. But on that page on FB it was stated that many people didn't have IDs checked at Tink. (good job, temps!)

 

[Anisum]

Wow! That's messed up on so many levels. Most bib thieves make copies which while wrong for so many reasons doesn't run the risk of preventing someone who legitimately registered from running the race I can't imagine showing up to an expo (especially for a Disney race) only to be told by a volunteer that someone already signed for my bib. The amount of stress and panic that would have put me through would have really put a damper on my weekend even if Disney resolved the issue quickly.

 

[Ariel484]

Posted in another thread...

They (the thief and the person whose bib was stolen) were in the same Facebook group - my guess is the thief was trolling the group for potential bibs to steal (in fact, the thief was booted out of that group and then attempted to re-join under a different name - probably to continue to look for bibs to steal for future races).

It's like on this message board - we register for the races and excitedly post "I'M IN!" Except most of us don't post our real names or birthdates. But then if you go into a Facebook group, you just look around for someone with an "I'M IN!" post - click on their profile and if they're using their real name, there it is. Some even have their birthdates there with month, day and year. And that's all you need to get a waiver.

I'm guessing the bib thief found the rightful bib owner in the runDisney Facebook group, got her name and birthdate from her profile, and printed the waiver from home. How she physically GOT the bib is puzzling - did the temp working bib pick-up just not ask for ID? How would the thief KNOW she could get away with not having an ID? Maybe she had a few stolen waivers ready to go and just went with the first place where she didn't need to show ID.

I also don't get why she was so dumb as to not put the bib on her back or something during the race - the person whose bib got stolen put the bib number into PhotoPass and BAM, there's pictures of the thief wearing the stolen bib (which is how she was ID'd)...she had to have known she'd show up in pictures.

I really feel for the person whose bib was stolen. She was still able to run the races and get the C2C medals she was entitled to, but that sucks to get totally violated like that.

 

[scottwvu]

This is spot on to my thoughts.. and I also couldnt figure out why she didnt put it on her back. My only guess she was trying to blend in. With the ID, I thought she may have stolen enough information from facebook to create a fake ID using her own photo. A lot of people on those pages report what day they are arriving and what time they will be at the expo. She just needed to find someone who would be late enough that she could beat them in. Pretty disturbing stuff.

Posted in another thread...

They (the thief and the person whose bib was stolen) were in the same Facebook group - my guess is the thief was trolling the group for potential bibs to steal (in fact, the thief was booted out of that group and then attempted to re-join under a different name - probably to continue to look for bibs to steal for future races).

It's like on this message board - we register for the races and excitedly post "I'M IN!" Except most of us don't post our real names or birthdates. But then if you go into a Facebook group, you just look around for someone with an "I'M IN!" post - click on their profile and if they're using their real name, there it is. Some even have their birthdates there with month, day and year. And that's all you need to get a waiver.

I'm guessing the bib thief found the rightful bib owner in the runDisney Facebook group, got her name and birthdate from her profile, and printed the waiver from home. How she physically GOT the bib is puzzling - did the temp working bib pick-up just not ask for ID? How would the thief KNOW she could get away with not having an ID? Maybe she had a few stolen waivers ready to go and just went with the first place where she didn't need to show ID.

I also don't get why she was so dumb as to not put the bib on her back or something during the race - the person whose bib got stolen put the bib number into PhotoPass and BAM, there's pictures of the thief wearing the stolen bib (which is how she was ID'd)...she had to have known she'd show up in pictures.

I really feel for the person whose bib was stolen. She was still able to run the races and get the C2C medals she was entitled to, but that sucks to get totally violated like that.

 

[Kender]

The ID thing is baffling. My mom had her ID checked twice just to pick up her 5K bib (dunno about 10K because my PDC pick up took extra time as I had to go to runner relations to get my blue C2C wristband). Two of the ladies at her section checked it (I think since no one was in line for their side) and then sent her next to them to get her bib from the gentleman sitting with them. He insisted on seeing her ID again.

It could make sense that a fake ID was made. I highly doubt the temp workers are trained on all the different security items to look for on a given ID. To be fair, volunteers likely weren't either. Heck, I worked somewhere that the only IDs we'd accept for alcohol purchase were California IDs, military IDs, and Passports (from any country). Those were the only IDs we were trained on.

 

[2Tiggies]

? There's no full marathon at Tink, and the article shows that she did a marathon without being registered for it...just not the January WDW marathon.



Once the waivers come out, we have our bib numbers.


This was discussed on the Hogwarts Running Club page. People do weird things. When we were planning our wedding, I did most of it online, and talked online to other brides (b/c my mom was dead and my friends had gotten married 10 years prior, their moms arranged their weddings, and they could NOT understand how hard simple decisions like flowers were for me). And more than once some vindictive jerk called to cancel key parts of weddings of other brides. Once you give out a certain amount of info, even if you think you're trickling the info (and brides and runners never do trickle info...they blast the info into the ether), people can figure things out. It's entirely possible the woman went to the waiver site, used the other woman's name, and just started working her way through the calendar to get her bib info. Now, how she GOT the bib with no ID is the question. But on that page on FB it was stated that many people didn't have IDs checked at Tink. (good job, temps!)

I actually was looking at the graphics posted in the article and thought that the one where she ran the marathon was a half.

But still. So does anyone know what happened about this? Surely, since her identity (the thief) is now known, there could be some kind consequence ... but what? I'm wondering out loud here. I mean, what happens to someone like this when they are caught?

I agree with wondering how the bib was handed over without ID being a mystery. But despite being told to bring ID for packet pickup for every race, I've never been asked for it. I don't run Disney events by the way, so it's not for those. I always get asked for my name and if I have a print out or can show my registration confirmation on my phone. I have no idea how strict Disney is in enforcing the ID checking.

 

[opusone]

I've only done WDW Dark Side weekends, but this last time, they not only checked my ID, but they also compared the signature on the ID to my live signature (when you sign on the sheet by the bib number).

 

[ZellyB]

I've always had my ID checked for runDisney races.

 

[2Tiggies]

I've only done WDW Dark Side weekends, but this last time, they not only checked my ID, but they also compared the signature on the ID to my live signature (when you sign on the sheet by the bib number).

I've always had my ID checked for runDisney races.

Thanks. That's actually really good to know. Just makes the story all the more mysterious. As I said, I don't run the Disney races and my only experience with them has been working at the expo, but nothing to do with packet pick up or anything so I had no idea how it all works.

 

[FelisLachesis]

I'm thinking on how she got the bib without ID. I remember at some races, just having the confirmation page is enough. Now all you have to do is find someone's confirmation page, and then photoshop in the details to match the bib you want to steal, and take that with you.

 

[SueInBoston]

MY college age kids tell me that it's super simple and $50 to get a fake id by mail.

 

[GreatLakes]

I am always happy when people how do things like this or cheat to qualify for Boston are found out by Internet sleuths. It is great to see them exposed and, in the case of Boston, barred for life.

This may end up being a good thing. It is getting enough press that hopefully race directors pay more attention and require ID or no bib for you.

 

[bumbershoot]

While I have always had my ID checked (though I also always have it in my hand and just pass it over, so really, no one is ASKING me for my ID), several others on FB have said they were very lax about it at Tink.

 

[Anisum]

I'm thinking on how she got the bib without ID. I remember at some races, just having the confirmation page is enough. Now all you have to do is find someone's confirmation page, and then photoshop in the details to match the bib you want to steal, and take that with you.

The confirmation is generally not accepted as the form at Disney. It's possible she got a sympathetic volunteer if she said "I forgot my ID at my hotel but here's the confirmation." but I'm not really sure how believable that is because who doesn't carry their ID.

 

[Calfan]

While I have always had my ID checked (though I also always have it in my hand and just pass it over, so really, no one is ASKING me for my ID), several others on FB have said they were very lax about it at Tink.

I'm pretty sure I wasn't asked for my ID when I picked my bib up for the Tink half.

 

[JulieODC]

My ID was definitely checked at Tink this year.