Robbery Victim Finds Good Use for the NSA

The National Security Agency has been pretty unpopular since Edward Snowden leaked documents showing it has been unceremoniously spying on Americans. But one person found a way to use the NSA’s omnipresence for good. When an assailant attempted to mug a woman (who wishes to remain anonymous) in D.C. on Monday night, she reeled off the first thing that popped into her head: I work for the NSA. The white lie saved her phone and wallet — and possibly her life. The Washington Examiner reports:

The victim was walking home to her Capitol Hill townhouse when she was violently confronted by a man in the dark, grassy area between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Heritage Foundation….The assailant grabbed the victim’s arm and demanded her wallet and phone.

The victim, who weighs a petite 95 pounds, explained to the assailant she was an intern with the National Security Agency. As an intern, she said, she had no cash to fork over (she is actually a staffer at a D.C. nonprofit, and in fact did have cash on her).

The victim elaborated further, warning the would-be mugger that the phone she held in her hand — complete with a pink-and-blue Lilly Pulitzer case — would be tracked by the NSA if she were to turn it over.

“I told him that the NSA could track the phone within minutes, and it could cause possible problems for him,” the victim recounted.

As soon as this anonymous quick thinker told the mugger he’d be found out, he “looked at [her] and ran away.” Good thing the thief didn’t ask to see any proof.

—Posted by Natasha Hakimi