Laurence Dollimore
A BRITISH expat has sounded the alarm after falling prey to ‘bird poo scammers’ on the Costa del Sol.
Sue Oswick and her husband (pictured above) were enjoying a walk by the river in Fuengirola when they were unknowingly robbed of their credit cards.
They only realised they had been targeted by the classic con when the thief attempted to use their cards to do his shopping in Mercadona.
Sue explained in an online post: “We were both splattered with what we thought was bird c**p.
“This ‘nice’ man, who had just sat down on the next bench to us, jumped up and offered to help us clean ourselves up. He had water and tissues.
“He was helping to clean my husband’s shirt and shorts and then said we could keep the water to finish off. He then left.”
Sue said that just 20 minutes later she received a message from her bank.
She added: “I got a text from Barclaycard fraud saying somebody had been trying to use our credit card in Mercadona.
“When my husband checked his phone, he noticed that two of his credit cards were missing.”
Sue said the bank told her someone was also trying to use their cards in Benalmadena.
She said: “I think he may have had an accomplice who threw stuff onto us from the ramp behind where we were sitting.
“We thought he was a nice man for helping. How wrong we were, be careful in that park!”
Last month, a 56-year-old man was arrested for carrying out such scams in Benalmadena.
The master thief, who had a variety of disguises, would carry biscuits in his fanny pack which he would chew up into a mush before throwing the mixture at his victims.
He would then play the part of a helpful passerby while picking their pockets.
