Beware the fraudulent psychotherapist - what a cunning disguise for Crouch End

[OpinioN8 Administrator]

You might have heard this one before but it worth retelling:

 

There's a chap posing as a psychotherapist (yes he looks like he could  
be!) who says he's been mugged and asks for £20 for a train fare to St  
Albans/Berkhampstead etc. Several residents in Claremont Road/Stanhope  
Gardens have been approached over the past year and we've had an email  
chain this morning putting our stories together. One person was  
approached in the Budgens car park.

Some have given him cash, some haven't but it seems to have occurred  
several times over the last year or so, most recently last weekend.

 

I wonder if any of our readers have had this experience?

[OpinioN8 Administrator]

And OpinioN8 has been forwarded this anonymised email from the Safer Neighbourhoods Team

Dear *******

 

I have received all the correspondence that has been circulating regarding this chap. I will make sure my team are aware and would encourage anyone who is approached by him or someone potentially pulling a similar stunt to give us a call. It may not be a 999 type situation but try the local team and we will gladly respond if we are around.

 

Thank you for bringing the matter to our attention and I will make sure the team keep on the lookout for anyone looking like a psychotherapist!!   

 

Seriously it is important for us to know these things are happening to help us tackle them. Please circulate this to your members as appropriate.

 

Best wishes

 

John

 

Sergeant

John McGrath                                                             

Crouch End SNT - Haringey                                                                  Phone: [phone]                                                          Fax: [phone]                                                                      E-mail: [e-mail]                                                   Mail: The Collection 73-75 Crouch Hall Road N8 8H

[OpinioN8 Administrator]

Some victims from Twitter?

Fifi_La_Foufou Fi @GloomBaby @OpinionN8 I feared as much. Nov 04, 8:07 AM via Twitter for Android

In reply to…

GloomBaby Els @Fifi_La_Foufou @opinionn8 yep, that's him, around 1am a few weeks ago in the middle of the week. Grrr! Nov 04, 8:03 AM via Twitter for iPhone

[alex oates]

Hey,

we had the exact same thing last year. Last night the guy got on the 91 we happened to be on so we managed to take a photo, he usually wears glasses but had taken them off when we took the shot. Is this the guy who got you? We confronted him about it but he denied it, I'm certain he is the same scam artist that we encountered, he even managed to get on the 91 without a ticket by using a sob story.

[Jessica Ward]

Yep that's exactly the one - he approached me about 9pm on Ferme Park Road - said he'd been mugged and attacked and asked if he could borrow money for a train fare. He actually had an open wound on his nose so had obviously gone to worrying lengths to make the story look true...

I actually had no money on me otherwise I probably would have given him some. He had offered his phone as security... which afterwards I thought was weird - if he had been mugged, why would he have his phone? Really glad to have got in and found this thread as I was worried I might have not been very helpful to someone genuinely in need!

[graham B]

a guy hangs around the bus stop outside Tesco and asks everyone for money claiming to have lost his oyster card - he's well known to locals as he has been using the same story for months - the strange thing is he is well dressed and looks about 30 but is obviously unwell - which becomes obvious when he speaks to you - he is quite aggressive

[Steppenwolf]

He approached me several years ago just outside the library in Haringey Park. He gave the same story . I am afraid it sounded so absurd that I burst out laughing. He looked very hurt and walked off.

[Anne Soderman]

The same guy approached me a couple of months ago when I was doing some gardening in my front garden in Park Road. He said he was a Psychotherapist, had fallen, and needed money to get home. He had a horrible, gaping, bloody open wound on the bridge of his nose - it made me feel sick!  He looked so dodgy that I told him I hadn't any money to give him. So glad I didn't.