Police Investigate Shop Fraud

17 February 2010, 12:41 | Updated: 17 February 2010, 12:57

Police have released CCTV images of a suspect in three incidents of shop fraud that have happened on Thursday, January 21 and Tuesday, February 9 in shops in Havant.

In each incident the man enters the store and during payment for inexpensive items, asks the staff member to change a large note for him and during the process of doing this he manages to confuse them into giving him too much change.

He makes a profit of between £15 and £74 from this deception and leaves the store.

When dealing with the staff he is slightly aggressive and pushy, forcing them into making the mistake of issuing too much change in a rush to serve him.

Stores targeted were the One Stop in Purbrook, One Stop in Havant and Peacocks in Havant.

The suspect is described as:

• White
• 20 to 30 years of age
• Large/overweight build.
• Short brown hair
• Moustache and unshaven
• Wearing either a grey tracksuit top and bottoms or a blue hooded top or a t-shirt saying “Just out of rehab, lets party”
• Also wearing black trainers

PC Samantha Hockley said: “If any one recognises this man, they should get in touch with police as soon as possible. We would also like to hear from any shops that have had a similar thing happen to them. If shop staff are confronted with a person using this method of deception, we would recommend they call a supervisor over to deal with them and take a careful note of the suspect's description. We would also recommend that all shop supervisors ensure their staff are made aware of this kind of crime and are trained to deal with this kind of incident."

Anyone with information about this man should contact PC Samantha Hockley, Fraud Investigation Officer at Fareham police station on 0845 045 45 45 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.