Southern California Man Robbed of Thousands in Clever ‘Distraction Theft’ Scheme
A man in Southern California is trying to find the people who stole thousands of dollars from him by distracting him while they stole.
Irvin Nelson had finished shopping at the Albertsons store on Saticoy Street in Reseda on March 19 and was now paying for his purchases at a ticket stand.
As he entered his bank card PIN, he saw two people standing behind him, a little too close for comfort.
He said, “There were two people behind me, a man and a woman, and they were getting really close to me.”
Nelson described the woman as blonde with a heavy accent. She bumped into him while he was putting money back in his pocket, causing his cash to fall to the floor.
“She went down there to get it for me, but I told her to go away because it was my money,” he said.
The crooks then went outside with Nelson and followed him to the parking lot. When they found him, they told him he dropped a $20 bill.
“They gave me money, so I took my wallet out of my pocket,” Nelson said. “My wallet was right here.” She touched it with her hand and then gave me the $20 bill. That’s when I think she took out my debit card.
Within minutes of distracting Nelson and taking his debit card, the crooks took out almost $1,000 from a nearby ATM.
Nelson said, “Then they went inside the bank, talked to a teller, and took out $5,000.” “They were not asked to show ID by the bank.”
People say the bank worker didn’t ask for an ID, which Nelson finds strange. He is now working with Chase Bank to get the money back that was stolen.
Nelson said, “I really can’t believe I let this person get that close to me.” Tell someone to get out of your face if they come up to you and say you lost your $20.
Nelson is working with police on the case for now because the suspects are still on the run.
“For many, $6,000 might not seem like much, but for my family, it’s a lot,” he said.
People in Los Angeles have been warned by the police for a few months about an increase in distraction scams and thefts, including a trend of thieves taking gold from older people.
The thieves are thought to be Caucasian, maybe from Eastern Europe, and usually come up to victims during the day. There is usually a man and a woman involved. The LAPD said that they usually get people’s attention by talking, asking for directions, or complimenting their jewelry.
Call the LAPD at 1-877-527-3247 if you know anything about these kinds of crimes.
Call 1-800-222-8477 or go to lacrimestoppers.org to give tips to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers without giving your name.