Police are urging shoppers to be vigilant and protect their purses and wallets following a distraction theft in Chasetown.
The warning comes after the incident at 1pm on Wednesday (December 30). A woman in her 70’s had finished shopping in Morrisons supermarket in High Street, Chasetown, and as she put her shopping bags and handbag into her car a young woman approached her with a map. She asked for directions to Manchester. She then spread the map on a car next to the woman’s. She did not speak very good English but thanked the woman and left .
When the driver got into her car a man approached her and said he had seen a man go into her car. The woman checked her handbag and found that her credit card had been stolen.
Although she reported the theft to her credit card company, the card had already been used several times to withdraw cash. The woman believes the offenders must have seen her using her pin number at the supermarket which then allowed them to use her card.
Det Sgt Chris Douglas, from Burton CID, said:
“We would appeal for the man who spoke to the victim after the theft to come forward as he may have information that could help our investigation. It would appear that the victim had been distracted by the young woman as someone else stole her credit card.”
Anyone with any information, and the man who spoke to the victim after the incident, is asked to contact DS 4821 Chris Douglas on 0300 123 44 55.
DS Douglas added:
“We would urge everyone using credit or debit cards to take precautions when using their pin numbers to stop people stealing and using their cards.”
