The ‘phenomenon’ of younger men approaching older women in the street. Is this an organised scam and what do they want?

[azar]

I am 47 years old, married with 4 DC. In recent weeks (this is on Fulham Road), I’ve been approached on two separate occasions by two men who are both maybe early 30s and both have the same kind of “patter” (if you can call it that). There was also another one this morning, who I didn’t engage with at all because I suspected the same thing. They ask you “Excuse me, do you live round here?” So you stop because you think they need directions, etc. At this point, they tell you they have just moved to the area from another (nearby) part of London and they ask you again if you are local. They are British with British accents. They say something about how they want to meet people and would you like to go for coffee / lunch with them there and then . They are reasonably good-looking men by average standards and would not strike you as odd if you walked past them in the street. A similar thing has also happened to a friend last week.

I’m sure this is some kind of scam, but I wonder what it is they actually want? Are they just trying to get a free lunch? Are they expecting you to take them to your home and then they will rob you or worse? (They are very interested in whether you are local). What do they actually think is going to happen and why would they think an older woman would be interested in someone their age?

Has anyone else experienced this?

I assume it would be a romance scam. Not so much rob your house as build a rapport then tell you later they need to borrow money for some reason - just until their shares pay out/their grandfather's multi million estate is settled etc. Purely a guess though.

It’s probably a modified romance scam. The typology you described occurs more often in European romance scams.

Not encountered this and sounds weird.

Plus they haven’t thought it through very well as no where to go for coffee or lunch.

@MarshaBradyo

Not encountered this and sounds weird.

Plus they haven’t thought it through very well as no where to go for coffee or lunch.

I was about to say the same, Marsha! Nowhere to go for coffee or lunch, they can't get close enough to come up to you and chat, so it's not a good scam.

No I’ve definitely not posted about this before because this is a new thing, in my experience.

The first time it happened, I thought afterwards that maybe he was homeless. But now that it’s happened again, I think it’s something else.

Yes, maybe it’s trying to build a rapport and then say they need money for an ‘emergency.’ Could well be. But they are very interested in where you live and ask this pointedly (as in, are you far from here, did you walk here?). This makes me think they might be trying to burgle you.

I think this is worth reporting to the police online or to your local council.

I don't know how much "rapport" they could build with 2 metre distance, even without masks? I would just ignore it.

Yes maybe it is a similar kind of thing to when younger men approach older women in resorts abroad. It’s all about the money and a visa basically. Maybe they figure that for every 100 women they hit on, one will get a coffee with them or something?

Maybe it's because there's nowhere to go for coffee or lunch, that someone very trusting might invite them to their home.

In all honesty, azar they're on to nothing because you can't have a lunch or a coffee. However, if you are being harassed then you should report it.

They are not particularly social distancing and not wearing masks either. They just come up to you on the street and are very persistent. “What are you doing now?” “Why haven’t you got time?” “Do you live nearby - I’ve just moved here too.”

This is weird, but I've had a similar thing happen in my small Northern market town. Man approached me head on, massive grin on his face and said hello, how are you? I just looked at him and said, sorry I think you've mistaken me for someone else. He insisted he'd seen me around loads in another town and said hello before. He hadn''t. I had to be quite rude and abrupt with him in the end as there was no shaking him off. He wanted me to go for a meal or coffee too.

Could be looking for sex clients

Definitely a scam in the making.

Sounds very irritating.

I've only had them do it when they have suddenly whipped out a clipboard and tried to get me to sign up for one of those makeover photography sessions.

The fact that they want to know if you live close by suggests to me that they will follow you home. Especially as you've said they've been persistent on wanting to know if you've walked to the location.

I would assume some kind of romance scam based on you being on one of the most expensive roads in the world.

What is MLM?

Sounds like a gold digger play for Youtube where women are approached by men in flashy cars etc and see if they take the bait. Id the women do then its posted on YouTube, faces blurred etc.

@azar

They are not particularly social distancing and not wearing masks either. They just come up to you on the street and are very persistent. “What are you doing now?” “Why haven’t you got time?” “Do you live nearby - I’ve just moved here too.”

That sounds very intimidating even if they don't mean it to. Especially during lockdown where it's a lot harder to 'escape' by going into a shop, library or whatever.

Definitely worth reporting to the police even if just to give a picture of what's going on in the local area. Might encourage the police to step up patrols or even have some plain clothes officers who fit the profile out and about to see if anyone tries to target them.

They obvs want your money. Their tactic is irrelevant really. Report to police if you can be arsed.