Jugging, in the modern crime sense (like “bank jugging”), is called that because the victim is seen as carrying a “jug” of money—essentially a big, obvious container of cash that thieves target after someone leaves a bank or ATM.

What “jugging” means today

  • In current news and police alerts, jugging usually refers to a scheme where thieves watch people at banks or ATMs, then follow them and steal their cash once they leave.
  • The person who just withdrew money is treated like they’re carrying a visible “jug” or pot of money, which is where the name comes from in this context.

Where the name comes from

  • The term is explained by legal and safety sources as coming from the image of a victim carrying a “jug” of cash—like a container or bundle that clearly holds money, such as a bank bag or envelope.
  • Because the criminals focus on that “jug” of cash and stalk the person after they leave the bank, the whole pattern of behavior picked up the name jugging or bank jugging.

Other uses of “jugging”

  • Separately, jugging is an old cooking term meaning to stew game meat (like hare) in a covered container or jug, as in the traditional dish “jugged hare.”
  • There are also slang uses (for example in some online forums or regional slang) where jugging can mean robbing or stealing in general, but the bank-crime meaning has become the most prominent in recent news.

TL;DR: It’s called jugging because the target is treated as if they’re carrying a “jug” of money—an obvious container of cash that thieves identify, follow, and then rob after the person leaves the bank.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.