Beware of Handsome Strangers

A good looking person catches your eye at the mall and begins conversation. Could it be a love at first sight or just a clever scam?

Canadian police are warning shoppers of debit card thefts that include distraction from a handsome stranger.

As reported by The Gazette, a Canadian publication:

“…fraud artists have been active for months and have developed a method where they follow a target through a large retail store, peek over their shoulder as they enter their PIN while making a purchase at a cash register and then approach the unsuspecting person outside the store.
In some cases, the person used to create the distraction is attractive and speaks with a European accent while asking for help with street directions.
Within the brief amount of time a person is distracted, their wallet is snatched away and their debit card is cloned. The wallet is returned without the victim noticing, but their bank account is quickly cleaned out.”

The comments on the article whose intent is to warn the public are rather interesting:
Bonzola “ I would be happy to pay the price for having an attractive person talk to me.”
DON'T LET THEM GET CLOSE TO YOU “While performing a transaction, don't hesitate to "accidentally" elbow someone in the face if they don't respect your space. It's very easy to suddenly get scared and have an involuntary reaction. If people start getting hurt, word will get around and people will start to behave correctly and respecting the privacy and space of others.”

Remember what your mother said about talking to strangers.