There have been several reports of a man carrying out debit card theft and fraud in Battersea, police have warned.

The man approaches older members of the public and tells them that he is having trouble paying for his parking ticket.

He asks if they can use their card to pay on his behalf and tells them that he can pay them back in cash.

When they have inserted their card into the machine, it appears to fail the payment. The card is lost and the man leaves.

When the person later checks their bank accounts, they find that large amounts of money have been withdrawn from multiple banks in the area.

Police warned that it is possible that the card is stolen using sleight of hand, or that it is taken by the machine and then later retrieved by this man.

Wandsworth police said: "He appears to memorise the pin numbers of these cards and then uses them to make transactions using the stolen cards soon after the event."

He is thought to be between 30 and 40 years old, of dark-skinned European appearance, with black hair and dark eyes.

He is described as 5’7” in height, and was wearing a short black duffel coat, dark trousers and a red scarf.

Police added: "If you see or hear anything which you think might help us identify or locate this man, you can report it to us online here.

"Please do not feel pressured into paying for someone else’s parking or making any other kind of payment on their behalf using your card. If you are not comfortable with doing so, politely decline and leave.

"If you see somebody else being pressured to make a payment on someone else’s behalf that they don’t seem comfortable with, ask if they are ok. If something doesn’t seem right, call police."

Police said that anyone who has their card retained at a machine should report it immediately to the bank, do not use machines that looking like they have been tampered with and shield PIN codes.

Police have also warned of a similar scam making the rounds where a person claiming to be from the HMRC calls up and attempts to pressure an individual into giving out bank details, before threatening them with the possibility of jail time.

You can also download the latest edition of our Little Book of Big Scams, which contains lots of information about the variety of frauds and how to avoid falling victim to fraudsters: