North Yorkshire Police has issued a warning after receiving a rising number of reports of scammers attempting to flag down motorists asking for money to fix their car.
The police said it received at least seven reports in the past two days in the Harrogate, Scarborough and Ryedale areas.
The force said suspect’s descriptions range from Asian, Portuguese and Eastern European men driving a silver Volkswagen or a dark-coloured Fiat.
In one incident on the A59 near Harrogate yesterday two men in separate lay-bys were seen trying to flag down motorists. One was described as a smartly dressed Asian man with a silver Passat and the other as European with a dark-coloured Fiat.
Soon after, another man managed to flag down a car on the A61 near Ripley. He was descried as Romanian and was then joined by two other men asking for money after breaking down.
Throughout the evening and into this morning similar reports were received in the Scarborough and Kirbymoorside area.
In one of those incidents the suspect wanted to take motorists to a cash machine to withdraw money and in others children were in the suspect vehicles.
Read more:
- Crime commissioner pledges extra police for Harrogate’s Mayfield Grove
- Owner of Harrogate Hand Carwash jailed for modern slavery offences
The police said most motorists realised it was a scam and drove away without giving any money.
The police has urged the public not to give money to anyone on the side of the road and be vigilant against anyone trying to flag down cars.
To report any information, call 101.