POLICE are searching for two men who have tricked elderly people and stolen money from them at cashpoints across South Wales in the last two days.
One of the men tricked the victims into thinking a cashpoint was broken. After convincing them to go into a Lloyds Bank to report it, he withdrew the maximum £500 from their account using their cash card. He escaped in a vehicle driven by another man.
All four thefts happened outside Lloyds Bank branches. The first two happened on Wednesday, one in Roath and the other in Neath.
Two more thefts occurred this morning, one in Bridgend on an 88-year-old and the other in Porthcawl on an 86-year-old.
Police have released CCTV stills in the hope of identifying the two men. The man who spoke to the victims and withdrew the cash was wearing a cap.
Police believe the men are from outside South Wales, and that they travelled in to the area to commit the thefts.
Bridgend Local Policing Inspector Melanie Knight, said: “We believe that anybody who knows them will recognise them from the pictures.
“They have committed despicable crimes and have targeted elderly victims – they must be caught.
“We believe they may try to commit further crimes so are urging people to be vigilant and to report anybody acting suspiciously near cashpoints.”
Jane Staples of the Lloyds Bank communications team said the bank were fully co-operating with the police in their enquiry.
Anybody with information is asked to contact police by phoning 101 and quoting reference *72921 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
