Hold on to your hair: Scissors-wielding thieves attack women in Venezuela

(CNN) -- In the Venezuelan coastal city of Maracaibo, they're known as piranhas. But these aren't the flesh-eating fish found in some South American rivers.

They're fast and ferocious thieves who residents say are increasingly attacking women.

The common denominator among the victims? All of them had long hair -- until thieves came at them with scissors, snipping it off.