VERY OLD STORY

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 11, 12 July 1930, Page 23

VERY OLD STORY

.CONFIDENCE TRICK

AN AUSTRALIAN DUPED

(From "The Post's" Representative.) LONDON, 16th May.

Once again, the old story of a fortune to distribute to charities has worked, and an Australian visitor is several hundred pounds poorer than he was rthrough believing it.

The case- is reported in the "Evening News-: It was in Hyde Park that the tricksters made the acquaintance of the Australian. One was an elderly man, Irish he said .he .was, who was "paying his first visit tp London." The second, a much youiiger man, declared himsalf •a- -nephew •of ■ the ■ elder man and showing "uncle" the sights of London.

The trio talked for a while in the Park and' th'eri ' adjourned' t6 a 'restaurant where the Irishman "in. confidence" disclosed to the visitor from Australia that he had inherited a fortune running into many thousands of pounds. It had come to him from an uncle who had recently died in. Australia. But there was a stipulation. To gain possession of the fortune no less a sum than £20,000 had to be distributed to charities in Australia withiu a period of twelve months. The real trouble which the benevolent Irishinaa was experiencing was to get into toudi.' with . those charities. He had never been to Australia, could not write, yiid didn't trust strangers. Of course-, his nephev. w;is willing to help, but he, too, suffered from the disability of never having been' to Australia. And time was getting short. If the Australian would assist he would be conferring a great honour upon the Irishman, and incidentally would earn for himself a share in the fortune that was to come. EASILY WORKED. The visitor swallowed the bait, and a further meeting between the three was arranged for the next day. The appointment was kept, but the tone of the Irishman had changed. Now he was suspicious of the Australian. "How am I to know yon are not going to rob me?" he asked. "There arc- so many of these confidence' tricksters who-come here from Australia." "But," protested the Australian, producing a draft for several hundreds of pounds, "I am not a poor man, and have no desire to rob you or anyone." The Irishman, however, could not be made to understand tfte nature-'of a bank draft. "I believe iv cash," he declared, producing what purported to be a big wad of £5 notes. "I'm willing to trust you with these, ju&t to show I have confidence in you." And without more ado the irishman wrapped the wad of "notes" in paper and pushed tho bundle in the coat pocket of the Australian. "Now go for a walk," he said. "You've got £400 there of mine. I'm willing, to trust you." At first the Australian demurred, but finally he agreed to 'walk as far as Oxford Circus and meet the tricksters later. At a later meeting the Australian was induced to trust the Irishman with something less than £-100, But as the amount did-not reach the total which the Irishman had trusted to the care of the Australian, "Uncle" suggested that the Australian should also include in tho parcel his diamond tie-pin, his watch and chain, a gold cigarette case, a gold ring, his euff-linfts, and spare cash amounting to las. The parcel was duly made up and placed in the Irishman's pocket. "Sure, we'll be back in ten minutes," declared the smiling Irishman as he and his "nephew" departed. Later, in the evening, in the rogues' gallery at Scotland Yard, the Australian was shown a photograph of the smiling illiterate Irishman who did not know what a banker's draft was.