A 39-year-old man has been charged with running a scam pretending to be an Italian fashion designer to lure in students and steal their cash. Police arrested him last Sunday (March 3) and are now looking for possible victims of his crimes to help convict him.
The man would target students and often strike up a conversation by asking for directions to an airport. He would then thank the students and offer them clothing that he had ‘designed’.
After gaining their trust, he would ask for money, sometimes claiming he had been the victim of a robbery, and promising to pay them back when he returned to Italy. However, no victim was ever paid back once the cash was handed over.
READ MORE:'I fell for an elaborate pickpocket scam and they stole £10k - I even got them a beer to say thanks'
Detective Inspector James Allsopp from Central North Command Unit which covers Islington and Camden where some of the students were targeted said: “We are appealing to members of the public, in particular university students who may have been targeted in similar circumstances. The offences took place between Tuesday, February 6 and Saturday, March 2 - if you think you may have met this man and been defrauded, please come forward to police by calling 101 and quoting CAD3410/04MAR24.”
The man was charged with five counts of fraud by false representation and one count of robbery – he has been remanded in custody to next appear at Wood Green Crown Court on Monday, 8 April.
Many elaborate scams are run in the city. Recently, Rob Mobile became a victim of one of them when his phone was stolen in Stockwell. The scammer said he had dropped it and asked him to punch in the code to prove it was his which Rob did and pocketed it, thinking nothing of it.
He then checked for his phone again to find it had disappeared again. The scammer was nowhere to be seen and it had been an elaborate ruse to get his passcode from him. Rob ended up having thousands of pounds stolen from his bank account on the phone.
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