Daylight robbery: elderly woman victim to vicious scam at Sefton Plaza

A 73-year-old woman was leaving Sefton Plaza when a man offered to change her ‘flat tyre’. Moments later her handbag was gone.

An elderly woman wass the victim of an elaborate scam which saw her tyre slashed and wallet stolen.

73-year-old Gloria Roberts was approached by a man, who claimed her tyre was flat, in the Sefton Plaza carpark at 4pm on Thursday.

Gloria’s daughter Kylie Roberts said “a fella knocked on her door and said ‘do you realise your tyres flat?’”

“He was insistent on fixing her tyre,” Ms Roberts said.

“He said ‘I’ve got 10 minutes, I’m waiting for my wife’ but it was all a hoax.”

Ms Roberts said her mother followed the man to the back of the car to help him lift the spare tyre out.

It was only a short time later that the 73 year old realised her handbag was missing from the front seat.

Gloria Roberts’ tyre was slashed on Thursday afternoon at Sefton Plaza. Picture: Supplied

“The man continued to do the tyre and put the flat tyre in the boot and then mum said ‘my handbags gone’,” Ms Roberts said.

“The man didn’t seem to care and left off in a hurry.”

It was later discovered that Gloria’s tyre was not flat, instead it had been slashed by the perpetrator.

Gloria Roberts was targeted on Thursday as part of an elaborate scam. Picture: Supplied

“It’s worse because it was not a flat tyre caused by nature, it was because these bastards caused it,” Ms Roberts said.

When Gloria got home and brought the incident to the attention of her family they checked the tyres. Ms Roberts said the nuts were lost on the tyre.

“It puts mum’s life at risk,” she said.

Cards, cash and Gloria’s drivers licence were in her bag when it was stolen which threw the family into a panic as they tried to cancel them all.

It was then discovered that the thief used one of her bank cards four times in five minutes at a petrol station. Each charge was under $100 – one of which was $99.

Gloria and her husband have struggled to sleep since the robbery.

“It’s such an invasion of privacy … she thought old mate changing her flat tyre was trying to help,” Ms Roberts said.

“Police seem to think it’s not common but becoming more common,” Ms Roberts said.

Western District police are currently investigating the theft.