Have you fallen victim to your own good nature?

Ealing Borough Police are warning local residents to be aware of an Asian female who knocks on doors asking for money to get a cab to hospital to see a family member who has been in an accident.

She can be very convincing and persuasive and is known to be operating in Ealing W5 & W13, Hanwell & Acton areas.

Police describe her as Asian, early 30’s, 5’4, with long black hair. She has sometimes been seen wearing a beige coat & black scarf, black pin stripe trousers & black shoes.

Anyone with any information that could assist the investigation is asked to contact Ealing Borough Police on 0208 246 1052.  If you wish to remain anonymous call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

And Ealing Today has learned of a similar scam being carried out in the W5 area. This time victims are being approached on the street. “The lady who came up to me was white, in her 50s, with dyed blonde hair in a fairly short style, light

of frame and had an alcoholic look about her,” said a local resident. “She would be on Windsor Road in the mornings.

"It’s one of those things that you don’t report. I suppose I felt I couldn’t be absolutely certain that her mother wasn’t in hospital. The story she told does make you feel like ‘that’s awful’.

“So I didn’t know the first time whether or not she was telling the truth but I was left feeling slightly suspicious when, after I’d given her the money, she walked off in the opposite direction of the hospital. The next time she approached me was a week later and she was saying the same thing. I immediately knew it was a scam and I told her in no uncertain terms to go away. Her reaction said it all – rather than being affronted at my reaction she briskly walked off.”

Ealing Borough Police Crime Prevention Advice

When somebody turns up on your doorstep or stops you in the street asking for money or help, they're often not who they say they are! There are dozens of scams like this in operation at any given time.  There's the 'ran out of petrol and left my wallet at home' scam. The list is as endless as the human imagination. Scamsters can be endlessly creative.

February 22, 2007