22
Mar
2013
By Calvin at 09:57 GMT, 13 years ago
A friend of this website, Graham Houghton, has just posted this item on our Facebook page. It comes from West Mercia Police.
West Mercia Police are currently dealing with a number of distraction thefts in the region. One of the latest occurred at the Tesco car park in Ledbury. Others have occurred recently in Oswestry, Shrewsbury and Shifnal.
An elderly female was approached by a young Eastern European female who initially tried to distract her by obtaining change for a £2 coin. The trolleys at Tesco don't need a coin so this approach didn't work. She then went back to the lady and was saying "Hospital, hospital" and showed her a map. When the lady saw the map it was a map of England, not one for Ledbury, so she said she couldn't show her the hospital. At this point the offender turned and walked off.
It later transpired that the elderly female’s Barclaycard had been stolen and fraudulent transactions had taken place almost immediately. (West Mercia’s crime reference is: OIS 0204-S-130313)
West Mercia Police are asking all members of the public to be vigilant against this form of distraction theft. It could happen anywhere. If you have information about this or similar incidents please contact the Force Control Room immediately on 101.
Unfortunately this report does not give any detail about how precisely the lady’s Barclaycard was stolen except for the fact that the distraction was sufficient for the theft to have taken place. Maybe her handbag was left open and the Barclaycard was loose on top – who knows – we don’t.
The point of the warning is clear though. Wherever you are, if you are approached by a stranger whose apparent command of English is poor, be on your guard! Any request from anyone that might require you to open your handbag or reach for your wallet should set alarms off in your head and, of course, the assailant doesn’t have to have a foreign accent.
Keep ‘em peeled!
