Widow Maria Lenko, 90, victim of £500 distraction theft

Watch Widow Maria Lenko, 90, victim of £500 distraction theft - KentOnline / KMTV on Dailymotion

Transcript

00:00And you went to the bank to withdraw some money?

00:03I went nationwide, and I cashed £500, which the cashier, I was going to put it into my purse,

00:10and she said to me, I'll put it in an envelope. So she gave it to me in an envelope,

00:14which I couldn't fit in my purse, so I put it into the pouch on my trolley.

00:18Unzipped it, put it in, and then went out of the bank.

00:22There was somebody there who wanted me to get a paper for a friend,

00:26so I went down to Smith's, bought the mail, which I asked someone to give me,

00:32and then came back, walked round by what used to be Bartlett's Bank,

00:37and somebody said to me, you've dropped money on the floor, on the ground.

00:42I said, no I don't think I have. They said, oh yes you have, and they bent down to pick it up,

00:46and I faced them, meanwhile my trolley was behind me.

00:51So that must have been when they unzipped the pocket on my trolley and took the money out,

00:56because when I came home afterwards, after having lunch at Gerker House with friends,

01:01I went to get my money out and it was gone.

01:04Well I was just shocked, and I realised instantly, I thought, oh I know, it was a scam.

01:10I realised it must have been when the man said to me, you've dropped your money on the floor,

01:16and I realised I turned towards him and there was obviously somebody behind me.

01:21All my friends and family now say to me, you never go and get money on your own.

01:25If you need money you must always go with somebody.

01:28So that will be my rule from now on, I'll never go, which means of course I become less independent.