By Anthony Young
A fake policewoman has been deceiving pensioners in a village near Birmingham into letting her into their homes.
The deceptive woman has been approaching houses in Hollywood and telling residents that there has been a spate of burglaries in the area.
Her most recent strike occurred last Friday, when the dodgy woman went to a house in the Paddocks Road area and told a couple in their 80’s that burglars were at large, warning them not to keep large amounts of cash in the house. Dressed in a police uniform, her credibility appeared automatic and the old couple fell for her devious trick and let her in their home. Moving fast, she quickly stole an unspecified amount of money which the pensioners only noticed after she had left. The shocked pensioners were stunned, and after confirming the missing money, they reported the incident to the police. However, the police had no record of any of their colleagues visiting properties to deliver this warning, and immediately launched an investigation, which is still ongoing.
The crooked approach is not a well known one, but nothing new in this day and age. It has been used a number of times by determined crooks who have access to police uniforms either through acquaintances of their who are officers or by making very similar police uniforms. Sharp individuals should never fall for this trick because police officers do not have the right to enter anybody’s home unless they have a search warrant. Moreover, attentive occupants of any residence should be closely watching an officer who makes their way into their home. Old people are different. Lapsing memories and considerably slower movements makes them more vulnerable than most ordinary citizens. The real police officers are not taking any chances and want to alert all residents to be vigilant and not fall for this stupid old trick.
Birmingham police are currently looking for the female offender, who is described as white, with a tanned complexion, aged around 30, approximately 5ft 2ins tall, stocky build with brown hair.
Det Con Kirsty Hill, of West Mercia Police, said: “This is a type of fraud which has been used throughout the country and we are keen to get the word out that it appears people are now being targeted in the Hollywood area.
“It is important to remember that the police will never attend your property to provide advice about leaving large amounts of cash within your home