CCTV images of a man the police would like to speak to have been released following an investigation into two distraction thefts at a store in Bournemouth.
The incidents occurred on the morning of Friday 8 November at the Tesco Extra store in Riverside Avenue.
At around 11am a woman aged in her 70s was getting into her car when she was approached by two men. They asked for directions to the hospital and one of the men told the woman her tyre had exploded.
The victim went to look at her tyre and saw the other man standing on the other side of her car. She then realised her purse had been stolen and her cards had been used in two attempts to withdraw cash from machines in the area, both of which were unsuccessful. However, her cards were subsequently used to carry out a number of other transactions.
The theft is believed to be linked with a similar incident that occurred at the same location around an hour earlier where another woman aged in her 70s was distracted by a man asking for directions and later found her cards had been stolen.
Police Community Support Investigator Mike Cannings, of Dorset Police, said: “In both these incidents it is believed the offender has watched the victims as they paid for items in an attempt to get their PIN.
“We are continuing to make enquiries to identify those responsible and I am issuing CCTV images of a man we would like to speak to as part of our investigation.
“I would urge anyone with information as to his identity to please contact us.
“I would also like to remind people to be vigilant when shopping and ensure your PIN is not visible to anyone else when you are paying for items.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Dorset Police here or via email.