‘Lost tourist’ scam catches locals out

His latest victim, Nicholas Hezel from Kingsclere, has appealed to people to be on their guard.
The con man, speaking in an Italian accent, pretends to be lost.
Mr Hezel said he parked at the back of the car park at Tescos in Pinchington Lane on July 11 when the man – believed to be in his mid 30s to late 40s – pulled up in a silver Peugot 208 and asked for help because he had got lost on the way to Manchester.
Once Mr Hezel gave him directions, the man pretended to repay his kindness, claiming he was the representative of a watch company.
Apparently overcome with gratitude, the man handed over three watches – but then asked for money because he had lost his wallet.
Kind-hearted Mr Hezel handed over £40 before realising he had probably been conned.
In fact, the Newbury Weekly News can reveal, the man has targetted others.
One Thatcham man, who asked not to be named, was recently approached by a silver Peugot driver using an identical ‘spiel’ – but handed the watch back and refused to give him cash.
Mr Hezel said: “If someone draws up in a car park and says: ‘I am lost, my English is not good, can you help me?’ lock your doors immediately, do not get out of the car and do not answer them. If they are persistent ring the police, especially if you are a woman by yourself.
“They are very charming and try to keep you distracted and are careful not to commit a crime. I reported this to the police but they said that no crime had been committed.
Mr Hezel urged people to not feel embarrassed if they had been conned and to report similar incidents to the police.
A spokesman for Thames Valley Police, James Williams, said details of the incident had been passed to intelligence teams.
He added: “We would like to appeal to members of the public to be vigilant and report any suspicious incident to police.”
The reports follow a similar incident in Newbury in which a 67-year-old woman had her purse stolen from her car in the Tesco store in London Road.
She was approached by a man who distracted her by asking her about the local hospital. When she returned to her car she discovered her purse had been taken from her handbag.
A second male was then seen on CCTV trying to withdraw money on the woman’s credit card outside the store.
The offender who distracted the victim was a white male in his late 40s to early 50s, with black hair which was balding on top.
He was wearing a black suit with a white shirt and spoke in a broken English accent, claiming to be Spanish.
The second offender was also a white male, wearing blue jeans, a black jacket and a grey flatcap.
Thames Valley Police can be contacted via the non-emergency 101 number. Alternatively the charity Crimestoppers can be contacted via 0800 555 111.