Public service cross-link

[strange_complex]

If you live in, or spend much time in, Oxford, please read this post by diffrentcolours detailing a scam regularly perpetrated in the city centre. I've had it done to me twice, and also seen (and, happily, prevented) it a third time. He's also had it twice now, and if you scan down the comments to his post, you'll see that many others have too.

The more people know about this sort of stuff, the harder it is for the scammers to get away with it - so please, pass it on!

Comments

[innerbrat]

I've had the same woman approach me twice in the Holborn area in London telling me her parents were in hospital.

The funny part? They were five years apart and she was five weeks pregnant both times - and had a convincing pot belly to show.

[strange-complex.livejournal.com]

Interesting, given I think most people don't start to 'show' until they are about 3 or 4 months pregnant. I don't think she can have done her research very carefully!

Apparently there's some guy here in Belfast who spins the same old story along similar lines to the girl in Oxford, too. I guess once people have a story that works, they stick to it. We can only fight back by making sure as many people as possible know about it.

[pickwick.livejournal.com]

There's one in Glasgow, too - I've run into him twice using the same story. It was a while ago, and I can't remember what the story was (I'm thinking something about being stabbed, but you'd think that was a bit easy to check!), but it was a similar thing :o(

[swisstone.livejournal.com]

When I was in Manchester there was a bloke who was constantly getting mugged before he could go back to Sheffield. The second time, I walked away saying I'd heard it before, and he got quite shirty with me.