Good, neighbourly kindness shown toward drivers in distress may turn into something best described as 'anything but neighbourly', according to a recent warning put forward by Greater Sudbury Police Services.
A scam originating in Europe has officially made its way north to the Nickel City.
Called the 'Roadside Scam', fraudsters pretend to be in distress next to their vehicle either on the side of the road, or in a parking lot. From there, they attempt to flag down vehicles.
When vehicles stop and good samaritans ask what's wrong, the fraudster says they've run out of gas and don't have any money.
One signature of this scam is offering "gold" that is actually fake jewlery in exchange for cash.
The Ontario Provincial Police has reported numerous incidents of roadside scammers in the Greater Toronto Area; some of these date back to 2012. In Greater Sudbury, two incidents have been reported within four weeks time.
On March 22 at around 9:45 p.m. a woman driving a white, newer-model SUV pulled up within a few feet of a shopper who was exiting Walmart in New Sudbury. The woman stopped the SUV and stated that she needed to speak with the shopper.
Then she held up "gold" jewlery and stated that she needed money to get home and said she would exchange the "gold" with the shopper for cash.
After the shopper declined, the vehicle drove away. Two men were also in the vehicle with the woman at the time of the incident. All three individuals in the vehicle are described as being in their 20-30's, with a medium complexion and dark hair.
The second incident occurred on Tuesday, April 17 on the Highway 17 bypass. In this instance, a man ran out onto the road waving his arms as a vehicle approached. A community member pulled over to assist the man who appeared to be in distress.
The man who ran onto the road came up to the passenger side window of the pulled-over car and stated that the car that he was travelling in (a gold car) ran out of gas and that he wanted a ride to a gas station. Then he offered the good samaritan "gold" jewlery in exchange for help and cash.
The community member said that he could not give the man a ride, but that he would call a tow company for them. The man refused the assistance, took his "gold" jewlery, got back into the car and left.
Another man was travelling in the gold car with the man who flagged down the samaritan. Both were described as around 30 years of age, with a medium complexion and black hair.
"It is understandable that at times people really do require assistance, however, if the individual attempts to use this scam, the information you obtain before getting out of your vehicle may assist police in identifying these fraudsters," the Greater Sudbury Police said in a statement.
"If you choose to stop for an individual who appears to be in distress on the side of a road next to a vehicle, please consider taking down the licence plate and description of the vehicle, as well as, a physical description of the individual you are stopping to assist."
