newy.com.au – NSW Police have re-issued a warning over distraction thefts targeting older people after new reports emerged in Lake Illawarra, Wollongong, the South Coast and Sutherland, following incidents earlier this month in Newcastle City, Kuring Gai, the Northern Beaches, The Hills and Hawkesbury. Police say offenders approach elderly victims and claim they have dropped cash or a wallet, then steal bank cards while the victim is distracted and use them fraudulently.

The first alert, issued on 13 March, cited an alleged theft at Fletcher four days earlier. Police said an 81-year-old man was approached as he entered his vehicle in a shopping centre car park on Minmi Road by a man who claimed he had dropped money; after the stranger forced his way into the car and was pushed out, the victim later discovered his bank card was missing and $800 had been withdrawn at a service station in Elermore Vale.

Fresh cases detailed in Friday night’s update include Fairy Meadow, where a 73-year-old woman allegedly lost her ATM card after being nudged from behind and told she had dropped her purse, with eight fraudulent transactions later totalling $1970, and Batemans Bay, where police allege a 63-year-old woman had her bank card taken after a man and woman insisted a $50 note belonged to her and placed it in her wallet. Police said $980 was withdrawn before that card was cancelled.

The latest warning comes after NSW Police earlier this year established Strike Force Pitstop to investigate shopping centre car park thefts targeting elderly women. Police alleged two men operated from Newcastle to Wagga Wagga between 3 and 7 January, with one telling victims there was a problem with their vehicles while the other stole wallets, purses, cash and cards from inside cars; by 16 February, the pair had each been charged with 89 offences.

Police believe a group of four is involved in the current March incidents and have described them as three men and one woman, aged in their 40s, of Middle Eastern appearance and with a foreign accent. Anyone who believes they have been targeted has been urged to report it to their local police station or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.