Dozens of women in Des Peres, Missouri, have complained of being the victim of a serial hugger that the local press is calling "Jack the Gripper."

But how did the man con a hug from so many women? Here's how:

According to their reports, the alleged hugger typically approaches women while they are shopping by themselves, pretends to know them as a former neighbor, and then asks for a hug under the pretense that it is his birthday, Des Peres Detective Marshall Broughton said.

"He'd say, 'Hi, remember me? I lived down the street in the corner house. How ya been?'" Broughton said. "Obviously [the women] didn't remember him, but he did it so quickly and convincingly that they felt embarrassed that they didn't know him."

Des Peres police identified the man, who is 44, but did not arrest him because of uncertainty about whether his actions were criminal, Broughton said.

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So, what say you, Neatoramanauts? Is it a crime to trick a stranger into hugging you?