A British expat living in the Costa Del Sol has taken to social media to warn of a truly unpleasant scam that she fell victim to lately.
Sue Oswick and her husband were enjoying a walk by the river in the beautiful Spanish city of Fuengirola when they had their credit cards stolen, The Olive Press reports.
The callous fraudster reportedly threw fake bird poo at the couple, then stole from them as he helped them to clean it off.
She took to Facebook to warn others, writing: “We were in the park by the river in Fuengirola this afternoon. My knees were sore so we sat for a few minutes on a bench by the children’s play area.
“After only a few secs, we were both splatted with what we thought was bird c**p. This ‘nice’ man, who had just sat down on the next bench to us, jumped up and offered to help us clean ourselves up.
“He had water and tissues. He was helping to clean my husband’s shirt and shorts and then said we could keep the water to finish off. He then left. 20 minutes later I got a text from Barclaycard fraud saying somebody had been trying to use our credit card.”
She went on to explain that the attempt to use the card was made in Benalmádena, a nearby town about 20 minutes drive from Fuengirola.
She finished by saying: “I think he may have had an accomplice who threw stuff onto us from the ramp behind where we were sitting. We thought he was a nice man for helping. How wrong were we!!!!!! B***dy SCAMMER. Be careful in that park!”
Her post received over 100 comments, with several people saying that the same thing had happened to them.
One woman wrote: “This almost happened to us in Mijas. Except the man dropped the wallet he had stolen and then ran out off.”
Mijas is a pretty mountain village in Andalucia, about 17 minutes from Fuengirola by car.
Another expat shared a similar experience, saying: “It happened to us right in front of the lovely church in Benalmadena Pueblo, and the bank card was used within minutes in Benalmadena Costa at Coviran! He took about €60, the bank card and managed to smash my husband’s phone screen, which was left in his pocket.”
The Olive Press reports that a 56-year-old man was arrested for carrying out such scams in Benalmadena last month.
He would carry biscuits in his bag, which he would turn into a wet “mush” before throwing the mixture at his victims.
What to do if you’re a UK victim of crime in Spain
It’s important to report the crime to local police. The UK Foreign Office say: “To report a crime, including stolen property and lost or stolen passports, you can file a police report (‘denuncia’) at the nearest station of the:
- National Police (‘Policia Nacional’)
- regional police (‘Ertzaintza’ in the Basque Country, ‘Mossos d’Esquadra’ in Catalonia and ‘Policia Foral’ in Navarre)
- Civil Guard (‘Guardia Civil’)
“Some Spanish cities also offer a Foreign Tourist Assistance Service (‘Servicio de Atención al Turista Extranjero’ or ‘SATE’) where you can report crimes in English.”
They also explain that you can file a police report online for minor offences such as stolen bags or thefts from your car. You may need to get a police report for insurance purposes.
However, if you want to report a violent crime or sexual assault, you must go in person to the nearest police station.
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