Police are chasing a scammer who stole £ 600 from a “vulnerable” pensioner after speaking to him in a supermarket parking lot.
Now Owen Ward’s daughter says the incident made her father “embarrassed and ashamed”.
Sophie Douglas says her 76-year-old father sustained a head injury in 1997, which means that he sometimes has mild memory loss and also has difficulty making decisions and thinking.
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CheshireLive reports how Owen from Sandbach was approached on June 23 at around 1.30 p.m. in the parking lot of the city of Waitrose.
Sophie says the man told her father a complicated story about how the man needed money to fill his rental car with gas so he could return to Heathrow Airport because he couldn’t get cash from the bank.
Owen gave the man the money he had on him, which his daughter estimated at about £ 100.
This time the man asked for more money from Owen and offered to exchange a box of watches and perfumes for cash.
Owen deducted £ 250 from two different cards he presented to the man thinking it was a good deal.
Waitrose in Sandbach
Sophie says her father was vulnerable to the effects of the head injury – but bravely coped with the condition.
She said, “My father’s condition has improved over the years and he has learned to deal with it.
“Day after day people don’t realize what my father has got until you put him in a situation where someone is going to take advantage of him, then he doesn’t notice.
“He was a little embarrassed and ashamed of how much money he had given away.
“Before his accident, he was a bank manager in the business division, so he was always careful with money.
“In the past he would have helped someone, but he would have helped in a different way.
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“It took us all back to when he had the accident because all these years later he is still affected.”
After the incident, Sophie used social media to warn others about the scammer in the area.
This post is said to have “overwhelmed” Owen – some people asked Sophie to start an online fundraiser to help Owen get his money back.
Cheshire Police have confirmed they are investigating the incident. A spokesman said: “The police were called to report fraud in a supermarket in Sandbach.
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“The caller reported that the victim, a vulnerable 76-year-old man, was in the Waitrose parking lot at around 1.30pm on Wednesday 23rd June when he was approached by a stranger.
“After a conversation between the two of them, the victim was persuaded to buy 30 watches.
“The man then followed the victim back to his home and then to the Sandbach Post Office, where he turned down £ 500 which he passed on to the suspect.”
To donate to the fundraiser, click here.
