A Walmart shopper fell prey to a crafty scam at a self-checkout dubbed the "good Samaritan" theft, according to authorities.
Dana Heddle said she was approached by a man while she was waiting in line at her local Walmart store in Burlington, Ontario, Canada.
She said the man instructed her to use the self-checkout machine to pay for her items by entering her PIN into the reader.
Little did Dana know that she was about to become the victim of a scam that would ultimately cost her thousands of dollars.
Later on, when Dana was in the parking lot, she said the same man approached her again and told her that one of her car's back tyres had an issue.
While Dana was distracted checking the tyre, another person quickly snatched her wallet from her purse in the car, she told CTV News.
The thieves allegedly made off with her Visa card, a department store credit card, and a substantial amount of cash.
Dana was devastated to later discover that the scammers were on a shopping spree and approximately $3,600 (£2,800) was missing from her bank account.
Dana's daughter, Sue, who was also interviewed by CTV News, said that her mother was a trusting woman who had never expected to fall prey to a scam like this.
She said: "What's sad for me is my mom was so trusting before and she thought this person was helping her and really they were robbing her blind."
Dana, who is still struggling to come to terms with what happened, said that she wants other people to be aware of the scam so that they do not fall victim to it.
Thankfully, the bank was able to refund her the charges on her account.
The Halton Police Department has now warned people to be alert to this type of "good Samaritan" theft is becoming more common.
The thieves often work together in pairs, with one person distracting the victim while the other steals their wallet or purse.
Steve Elms, of the Halton Police Department, explained that the suspects may use the ruse of a flat tyre or some other issue to distract victims.
"They may be telling the victim their tyre is low on air to get the victim out of their car," he said.
"While the person is checking the tire, another person may be then taking their wallet out of their car."
