Bogus charity collectors steal handbag and cash from elderly woman

Two women pretending to be charity workers stole a handbag containing £400 from a pensioner.
Kinsley. Picture by GoogleKinsley. Picture by Google
Kinsley. Picture by Google

Police have issued a warming after the women knocked on a door in Kinsley at 8.10pm on Wednesday, June 9 telling the elderly victim that they worked for a children’s charity and were doing door to door collections.

Once inside the bungalow one of the female suspects, who was pregnant, asked to use the toilet while the other female stayed and distracted the victim by looking at family photos on the fireplace. They both left the property soon after and walked away.

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The victim felt uneasy and decided to check that her purse was still safe in her bedside cabinet and discovered that it had been stolen. It contained £400 and a bank card.

The female suspects were described as both wearing a lanyard, one was carrying a clipboard, and had possibly Asian/Eastern European, dark hair.

The other was aged in her mid 30s and was tall and slim and heavily pregnant.

Wakefield City and North West Neighbourhood Policing Team said: "Please remember – You don’t have to let anyone into your home. Always check the ID of the person at the door (even that of emergency services workers in uniform) and don't be afraid to make checks via a phone call with the company/organisation that the doorstep caller is claiming to be from.

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"Never ring a phone number provided by that of the doorstep caller, always obtain the correct number for yourself to make sure you are definitely contacting who you believe to be.

"Further advice can be found on Doorstep Crime | West Yorkshire Police

"Please pass this information onto any elderly family members, friends and neighbours to help to keep them safe and to try and put a stop to this type of crime."