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Hunt for laptop ‘potato’ con artists
Street conmen offering “bargain” laptops are duping people into handing over hundreds of pounds for ... kilos of potatoes.
Police are now investigating if five incidents are linked.
In addition to a warning they urge people not to buy on the street as items could be stolen and they could face handling stolen goods charges.
A similar getaway car was used three times.
At 2pm on Thursday the victim was approached in The Headrow junction by a man offering a laptop. He was taken to a car in Lady Lane and shown a laptop and a “purchase receipt”.
After agreeing to buy the victim withdrew money. On handing over cash he was given a case, but as the trickster drove off the buyer found it held a load of potatoes.
The fraudster was white, aged 26 to 28, about 6ft tall, had blond hair and a foreign accent. A second white man was in the car.
Between 2.05pm and 2.25pm on January 27 in Chapel Lane, Armley, a man was approached by three men in a silver Astra offering a lap-top. This victim also got a bag of spuds, not micro chips, for hundreds of pounds.
The next day a man was in Harold Grove, Burley, Leeds, when three men in a green Astra offered him a “new” i-pad tablet computer and two i-phones. After paying cash he found the case he was given before the sellers sped away also contained potatoes.
The day after that - January 29 - between 12.45pm and 1pm a man was approached in a car park at Market Place, Otley, and offered and i-pad, iPod and laptop. He handed over cash and was left with a bag of potates. The thief was white, 45-50, about 5ft 10ins, fat, had short ginger hair, was clean shaven and wore a beige jacket
About 2pm that day a man in Owlcotes Centre car park, Pudsey, was offered a lap-top with a receipt by men in a green Astra.
Again the buyer ended up with potatoes.
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Comments
There are 10 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
Little Miss Loiner
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 09:41 PMSorry all I can say is "Potato"
GRIPPER
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 05:54 PMSorry, but who in their right mind would buy anything, especially an expensive piece of electrical equipment, upon being approached in the street by a complete stranger? It honestly beggers belief! Surely any numpty can work out that (a) it's a scam or (b) these are dodgy people handling dodgy goods. No sympathy for the victims - it's the likes of them willing to buy from criminals that keep the bad boys in business.
Idlewhite
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 03:44 PMNever buy anything off street sellers and doorstep visitors you don,t know,tell em to go or threaten them with the Police.
Mark Paul
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 02:29 PMA simple scam where the purchaser is distracted and the item switched with an identical bag.
ljs
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 01:06 PMSomeone tried the same trick when I was at Uni in Manchester 10 years ago. My flatmate was keen to pay £300 for an ibook and we told him not to be so stupid and that it was obviously a scam. I then had to put up with him being stroppy for months afterwards. I thought it was because he thought he'd let what seemed like a good deal go. When we moved out his Mum asked me if I'd been daft enough to spend £300 on a laptop bag and 5lb of potatoes too. I laughed, a lot.
witchwoman
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 12:54 PMmore fool them you see it time an time again in papers on tv so more fool them
RichC
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 11:30 AMMaybe it's Leeds own Leigh Francis aka Keith Lemon filming a new undercover show? He's got ginger hair and shouts "Potato" a lot!?!? But seriously, anyone who buys those sort of items from someone walking upto them in the street deserves to be conned. Muppets.
RichC
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 11:26 AMMaybe it's Leeds own Leigh Francis aka Keith Lemon filming a new undercover show? He's got ginger hair and shouts "Potato" a lot!?!? But seriously, anyone who buys those sort of items from someone walking upto them in the street deserves to be conned. Muppets.
RichC
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 11:25 AMMaybe it's Leeds own Leigh Francis aka Keith Lemon filming a new undercover show? He's got ginger hair and shouts "Potato" a lot!?!? But seriously, anyone who buys those sort of items from someone walking upto them in the street deserves to be conned. Muppets.
leedsman
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 11:13 AMDear YEP...........we know what potatoes look like!
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