Police say the suspects show a fake badge

THIEVES impersonating police officers are showing fake badges and “seizing” valuables and cash from unsuspecting tourists.

Camden Police’s Euston Town Centre Team, led by top cop Sheena Hambleton, is currently investigating the new “crime trend”.
Ms Hambleton told the New Journal: “The method they’re using is they identify themselves as police officers. They show a badge [that victims] believe to be a police badge. Then they ask where the victims are from. Once they disclose they’re tourists, [the thieves] tell the victims they’re going to be searched under the Terrorism Act.”

She said in one case, a man was approached and asked for his passport. Thieves examined the document before flashing a fake police badge and conducting an illegal search.

Ms Hambleton said: “He had a thousand pounds in his wallet and they took that. The problem we have on Euston Road is we’ve got quite a few currency exchanges around there. So what people were doing is targeting people coming out of the exchanges.”

“To be honest, it goes under-reported, so there is probably a lot more than what we are aware of,” she said, adding victims are often “reluctant to proceed” with criminal cases because they are returning to their home countries.

She said tourists will often “claim on their travel insurance” for the lost money. “If not, then they probably just write it off as a bad experience and go home.”

She added: “What these police impersonators do is they tend to go around Europe. They’ll use the Eurostar, and they’ll travel around… this is why sometimes it can be difficult to catch them.”

She said a possible fix is to display information in airports and trains about the scam for “people coming into the country”. Ms Hambleton said the signs should include warnings for tourists to “be aware: you’re going into a city, these are the things to look out for, this is what a police badge in the UK looks like”.

Ms Hambleton said: “If in doubt, question it. Ring 101 or 999 [if you don’t understand] why you’re being stopped, and it’s not a legal stop.”