POTENTIAL victims have been urged to 'stay strong' and keep one step ahead of a 'large' thief who scammed one dad out of his mobile phone.

West Mercia Police has issued a description of the man who carried out the alleged theft in St John's, Worcester at 10am on Tuesday.

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The suspect claimed the £700 for the iPhone 14 was in the process of being transferred to the victim's account - but the cash never materialised. 

Worcester News: CONCERN: Texts between victim and suspect in the iPhone theft CONCERN: Texts between victim and suspect in the iPhone theft (Image: Submitted by victim)

Claiming he was in a rush, the suspect then left in a car with another male.

A spokesperson for West Mercia Police said: "I can confirm that Police are investigating report of a theft. The victim was selling an iPhone mobile phone on Facebook Marketplace.

"The offender is described as a white man with a large build, wearing glasses and a baseball cap.

"The offender attended the victim’s address at around 10am on January 24 and left in a blue Vauxhall vehicle. There was another man in the car – we have no description of the other man."

DI Dave Knight of South Worcestershire Proactive CID, based at Worcester Police Station, said it was a 'common fraud, particularly with high value electrical items'. 

"They arrange to meet, take the phone and say that there's always a delay on the transfer to the victim's account and will then put pressure on the victim to be able to leave with the property. My advice is to stay strong. Do not let that property out of your sight. If they begin to get aggressive, call police," he said.

Meanwhile, the victim - a Worcester dad who wished to remain anonymous - has urged others not to fall prey to the scam.

When the dad handed over the phone, the man said he would transfer the £700 to his account in payment but the victim demanded the phone back until the transaction was complete.

The victim told the Worcester News: "I said to him that the payment had not gone through.

"I said 'I have nothing coming into my account' and he said 'maybe there's something wrong'.

"He already had the phone. I had my little boy with me and I couldn't do anything. When he took the phone he gave it to the person with him in the car.

"He said to me 'okay I'll have to ring the bank now and ask them why the money is not transferred to your account' and then I believe he rang someone he knows and pretended he was the bank and said it will take two hours (to transfer the money)."

The alleged conman claimed he had to leave quickly, telling the victim "I have to go somewhere".

The alleged victim said: "I just want people to be careful. I want to stop it from happening to other people. I don't care about the phone."

The victim was also shown the man's driving licence and car number plate which he believes was an attempt to convince him the man was genuine although he now believes both were false.

Those with information about the incident can contact West Mercia Police on 101, quoting incident reference 00271_I_24012023