From KOB-TV: Albuquerque police are warning people of a thief who is targeting drivers by telling them their vehicle has a “wobbly” tire. According to APD, the man approaches drivers, warns them that one of their tires is wobbly, and offers to fix it. Then, the thief reaches into the vehicle and grabs their purses.
KOB 4 spoke to a woman who fell victim to this scam.
At first, she thought a man was just being nice, warning her of a flat tire. But by the time she realized something was wrong, it was too late.
“Somebody taps my window, and they told me I had a flat tire, and I didn’t pay attention to him. He said ‘You have a flat tire, I’ll fix it for you.’”
A woman – who does not want to be identified – says she was leaving a shopping center when she was approached by a man who eventually convinced her to get out of her car:
“He said ‘Do you have a spare tire?’ And I said ‘I don’t think so.’ But he said ‘Well, let’s look and see if you have a spare tire.’ So I went around to the back and looked, and he looked too, and I didn’t have a spare tire.”
Both police and the victims describe the scammer as a short, skinny Hispanic man in his 40s driving a white sedan or a U-Haul truck.
Police say you can protect yourself by being suspicious of people who approach your car, and by always locking your vehicle if you step out.