People in Harrow have been victims of pickpocketing in Harrow Town Centre and have taken to social media to warn others.
A post made yesterday on the Harrow Online Group said: “Warning going out to anyone withdrawing money in Harrow Town Centre.
“This happened to a friend yesterday and after telling this story I have subsequently found out that there have been a lot more incidents that others have experienced.
“A friend of mine went into the Nationwide yesterday to withdraw cash. He came out of the bank and visited Robert Dyas. He noticed a woman wearing a scarf standing quite close to him in the shop. She bumped into him once and again a bit later on. He felt a hand in his pocket. The woman had managed to take his wad of money out of his pocket. He grabbed her hand and managed to prise the money out of her grasp.
“The shop attendants closed the doors after seeing the commotion. The police were called and the woman was arrested. My friend felt that he had seen her somewhere before and realised she was standing behind him in the queue at the bank.
“This was confirmed by CCTV footage in the bank.
This has nearly happened to two more people coming out of Lloyds bank too. Please be careful when withdrawing cash. The police are aware of this but yet this still goes on !!!”.
Unfortunately , It would appear that there are more victims of pickpocketing as someone replied to the post saying: “It happened to me a few days ago, I came out from the Halifax I headed towards a charity shop when I was in there I felt this bump from someone I looked and saw a woman, she bumped me again when I was at the counter.”
The person who posted the original message on Harrow Online Group also asked us to share his concerns about elderly people that could be potential victims. “I am concerned more for the elderly collecting their pensions whilst been watched by these gangs. I have 4 children growing up in Harrow and I desperately fear for their future.”
Another comment warned of tampered ATM machines: “The atm at Sainsburys in Rayners Lane was recently tampered with. The card was retained in the atm so my friend refused to allow the next person waiting, to use it. She phoned the bank and in the 3 minutes she was standing there someone had withdrawn £500 from the atm at the closed Nat West Bank on the opposite side of the road, behind her…. and spent £400 at Tesco Pinner Green. There was £920 in her account. Someone had been standing behind her videoing her use at the atm. Although she thought she had covered her pin usage he had caught it all and cloned her card. Bank reimbursed her and stopped the card.”
In June last year, local police warned the public about pickpockets operating within Harrow Town Centre and measures you can take to prevent yourself being a victim of theft. They tweeted: “Harrow Safer Transport Team were in Harrow Bus Station. We have been informing members of the public about thieves/ pickpockets operating on the buses and in the Harrow Town Centre area. @MPSRTPC”
