Officers investigating two distraction thefts at a store in Bournemouth are issuing CCTV images of a man they would like to speak to.
The incidents occurred at the Tesco Extra store in Riverside Avenue on the morning of Friday 8 November 2019.
At around 11am a woman aged in her 70s was getting into her car when she was approached by two men and asked for directions to the hospital. One of the men also said her tyre had exploded and as the victim went to look she saw the other man standing on the other side of her car.
She subsequently realised her purse had been stolen and discovered it had been used in two unsuccessful attempts to carry out withdrawals from cash machines in the area.
It is believed the theft is linked to a similar incident that occurred at the same location around an hour earlier where another woman aged in her 70s was distracted by a man asking for directions and found her cards had been stolen.
Her cards were subsequently used to carry out a number of transactions.
Police Community Support Investigator Mike Cannings, of Dorset Police, said: “In both these incidents it is believed the offender has watched the victims as they paid for items in an attempt to get their PIN.
“We are continuing to make enquiries to identify those responsible and I am issuing CCTV images of a man we would like to speak to as part of our investigation.
“I would urge anyone with information as to his identity to please contact us.
“I would also like to remind people to be vigilant when shopping and ensure your PIN is not visible to anyone else when you are paying for items.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Dorset Police at www.dorset.police.uk, via email [email protected] or by calling 101, quoting occurrence number 55190176429. Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via www.crimestoppers-uk.org.
