Fake Pilgrim fraudster in Gironde, France

[JabbaPapa]

There's a report in the French Le Figaro newspaper that the Police are searching for a fake pilgrim, going by the name of Fred, who has been posing as someone in need and then stealing people's credit cards, and cars, after gaining their trust by doing handiwork jobs for them.

En Gironde, deux femmes arnaquées par un faux pèlerin sur les chemins de Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle

Un homme d’une quarantaine d’années, soupçonné d’avoir monté une arnaque pour voler cartes bleues et voitures, est recherché par la gendarmerie de la Gironde.

www.lefigaro.fr

Même sur les chemins de Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle, l’habit ne fait le moine. Depuis un dépôt de plainte datant du 28 septembre, un homme d’une quarantaine d’années, qui se présente comme un pèlerin, est activement recherché par la gendarmerie de Saint-Savin. Il est soupçonné d’être l’auteur de plusieurs vols de cartes bleues et voitures chez des hôtes des chemins.

Pour mener à bien ses méfaits, l’individu prétexte avoir besoin de se reposer sur la longue route qui le mène vers l’Espagne et réussit à s’inviter chez ses victimes quelques jours, voire plusieurs semaines. «Généralement, il se rapproche de femmes, gagne leur confiance, travaille et participe à certains frais pendant qu’il fait ses repérages, puis il s’en va avec la carte bleue, son code et une voiture», indique au Figaro une source près du dossier.

The Fédération française des associations des chemins de Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle is warning people about the man too.

 

[trecile]

Google translation:

Even on the Way of St. James, clothes don't make the man. Since a complaint was filed on September 28, a man in his forties, who presents himself as a pilgrim, has been actively sought by the Saint-Savin gendarmerie. He is suspected of being the perpetrator of several thefts of credit cards and cars from hosts on the way.

To carry out his misdeeds, the individual pretends to need to rest on the long road that takes him to Spain and manages to invite himself to his victims' homes for a few days, or even several weeks. "Generally, he gets close to women, gains their trust, works and contributes to certain expenses while he does his reconnaissance, then he leaves with the credit card, his code and a car," a source close to the case tells Le Figaro.

The Fédération française des associations des chemins de Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle is warning people about the man too.

 

[dick bird]

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose​

Sadly, this is nothing new. Aymeric Picaud referred frequently to ´picaros´. But it is one thing to exploit someone´s greed, that is almost a form of public service, but to exploit someone´s generosity and kindness is a particularly despicable form of low.

 

[bullingtonce]

There's a report in the French Le Figaro newspaper that the Police are searching for a fake pilgrim, going by the name of Fred, who has been posing as someone in need and then stealing people's credit cards, and cars, after gaining their trust by doing handiwork jobs for them.

En Gironde, deux femmes arnaquées par un faux pèlerin sur les chemins de Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle

Un homme d’une quarantaine d’années, soupçonné d’avoir monté une arnaque pour voler cartes bleues et voitures, est recherché par la gendarmerie de la Gironde.

www.lefigaro.fr

Même sur les chemins de Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle, l’habit ne fait le moine. Depuis un dépôt de plainte datant du 28 septembre, un homme d’une quarantaine d’années, qui se présente comme un pèlerin, est activement recherché par la gendarmerie de Saint-Savin. Il est soupçonné d’être l’auteur de plusieurs vols de cartes bleues et voitures chez des hôtes des chemins.

Pour mener à bien ses méfaits, l’individu prétexte avoir besoin de se reposer sur la longue route qui le mène vers l’Espagne et réussit à s’inviter chez ses victimes quelques jours, voire plusieurs semaines. «Généralement, il se rapproche de femmes, gagne leur confiance, travaille et participe à certains frais pendant qu’il fait ses repérages, puis il s’en va avec la carte bleue, son code et une voiture», indique au Figaro une source près du dossier.

The Fédération française des associations des chemins de Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle is warning people about the man too.

Excellent as this confirms the state of current human existence and the state of human nature. If not for this example and others, it would seem that the world is OK as it is. Thankfully it is not. Chuck

 

[Jeff Crawley]

The ways of the hustler never cease to amaze. While waiting to top up our Navigo cards in Paris my daughter was approached by a woman who asked for money to go to the supermarket to buy food.
Katherine told her she didn't have any cash, she was using a credit card - to which the response was "Well lend the card to me and I'll bring it right back. I promise!"

Yeah, right.

 

[dreaming]

I remember meeting a pilgrim from Belgium who had been walking for a year. I met him on the Le Puy camino. He relied on others to pay for his meal and albergue. I chatted to him and moved on. I met him later and he was eating a roll and had albergue money.

 

[Pafayac]

In french, the word coquin (rascal) comes from "coquille" (shell) because many crooks were false pilgrims with a scallop shell...

 

[JabbaPapa]

I remember meeting a pilgrim from Belgium who had been walking for a year. I met him on the Le Puy camino. He relied on others to pay for his meal and albergue. I chatted to him and moved on. I met him later and he was eating a roll and had albergue money.

There's a difference between honestly seeking help along the Way and stealing people's cars and credit cards under false pretence.

 

[Martin-B]

In balance it's not necessarily the worlds getting worse, there are far more people on the Camino these days so by definition there will be more dubious characters, simple mathematics. Though I'm often heard to say the worlds getting worse ....

 

[JabbaPapa]

In french, the word coquin (rascal) comes from "coquille" (shell) because many crooks were false pilgrims with a scallop shell...

Actually it doesn't.

It comes from coquer, to cook, and is related to the word cocu, cooked, meaning the failure via adultery of your marriage.

A coquin is the cook.

 

[CWBuff]

The ways of the hustler never cease to amaze. While waiting to top up our Navigo cards in Paris my daughter was approached by a woman who asked for money to go to the supermarket to buy food.
Katherine told her she didn't have any cash, she was using a credit card - to which the response was "Well lend the card to me and I'll bring it right back. I promise!"

Yeah, right.

Sigh... my son fell for it when he was in his 20s. part of his story was that a man gave him a paper bag full of cash to "safe-guard" while he went off somewhere with my son's CC. my son SWEARS that when the bag was shown - it had $$$$ in it - full to the hilt! Of course the bag that my son was left holding (I guess pun IS intended!) was full of shredded paper....
... when my wife and I asked him to give us a reason why would someone who has a bag full of cash need someone else's credit card to conduct some transaction - the poor boy could only look helplessly at us.

another very common trick is to ask for money to buy food because "they are hungry". One time, during one of our cruises, we were returning to our ship from the shore excursion, which included a boxed lunch. A little kid in ragged clothese was running after our group and was beging for money in broken English saying "hungry, hungry". it just happened that one lady did not touch the box given to her so with the exclamations of "Oh you POOR child! Here! Here is some food for you" she gave the kid the box.
...Yu should have seen his face! he was lost as lost can be! He didn't know what to do with it, with himself... he started glancing back, toward a low wall where couple of adult males were sitting...reckon one o them was his "handler", perhaps his father...we'll never know... I just hope he didn't get a beating (which would not be un-common) but heck, what could've he done? he played his part to a tee....

 

[Jeff Crawley]

Sigh... my son fell for it when he was in his 20s. part of his story was that a man gave him a paper bag full of cash to "safe-guard" while he went off somewhere with my son's CC. my son SWEARS that when the bag was shown - it had $$$$ in it - full to the hilt! Of course the bag that my son was left holding (I guess pun IS intended!) was full of shredded paper....
... when my wife and I asked him to give us a reason why would someone who has a bag full of cash need someone else's credit card to conduct some transaction - the poor boy could only look helplessly at us.

another very common trick is to ask for money to buy food because "they are hungry". One time, during one of our cruises, we were returning to our ship from the shore excursion, which included a boxed lunch. A little kid in ragged clothese was running after our group and was beging for money in broken English saying "hungry, hungry". it just happened that one lady did not touch the box given to her so with the exclamations of "Oh you POOR child! Here! Here is some food for you" she gave the kid the box.
...Yu should have seen his face! he was lost as lost can be! He didn't know what to do with it, with himself... he started glancing back, toward a low wall where couple of adult males were sitting...reckon one o them was his "handler", perhaps his father...we'll never know... I just hope he didn't get a beating (which would not be un-common) but heck, what could've he done? he played his part to a tee....

For the first part - a scam as old as the hills, the famous "pig in a poke (bag)" show a man a nice fat piglet and then leg it before he finds out he's actually got a very angry cat in a sack!

For the second part - it's quite disgusting the way some people treat the innocent. Thank goodness the deliberate maiming of children, especially girls, has fallen by the wayside. So sad.