Warning : Encounter With Suspicious Person
North Yorkshire Police are sharing this information as an awareness to an incident, which left an older man £150 out of pocket. The financial impact is important, but the method of how it was done, is also concerning.
The son of the victim contacted Action Fraud to report this.
I am aware that the report is from Selby, however, it is unknown as to whether the suspect has not taken advantage of other people across the county. Our Financial Abuse Safeguarding Officer was keen for me to pass the story, to prevent others from falling victim to the same kind of behaviour.
The victim of this incident is in his 80s and has Alzheimer’s disease. The recall of the incident is surely to have caused some upset.
He has been walking in the street in Selby when he has been approached by the suspect. The suspect has stated that he was looking for some friends in Selby, having been to the addresses, they weren’t there. The suspect has gone on to say that he had gifts that he wanted to give to his friends, but he can’t now. The suspect then asked the victim if he would take the gifts. The gifts appeared to be leather jackets.
The suspect said the victim could keep them or give them to family. The victim was reluctant.
The suspect appears to have been quite persistent, showing documents to the victim to prove his identity, including the passport of an Italian passport.
The victim was made to feel bad for the suspect, and offered to pay for the jackets, to which the suspect stated he only wanted the VAT on the gifts which was £300.
The victim has stated he didn’t have that kind of money, so the suspect dropped it straight to £100. The victim had to go to a cashpoint to withdraw the money. However, when he returned to the suspect, he was asked for another £100. The victim refused but offered £50 which the suspect accepted. The suspect then gave the victim a lift to the bus stop.
We would like to hear from anyone else who may have been approached in this manner, and we would like you to pass this information on to others who you think may benefit from it.
If anyone is approached in this manner in the street, I would advise walking away from the suspect, then calling Police. Consider whether the situation requires calling 999 or 101.
Message Sent By
Nathan Stuart
(North Yorkshire Police, PCSO, North Yorkshire)
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