It's a warning from police to think twice before trusting someone who may seem like they're just trying to help.
Police in Portland, Oregon have launched a manhunt for a pair of thieves who committed a number of robberies by posing as good Samaritans.
The duo -- one adult male and a teenage accomplice -- are accused of driving alongside other motorists and telling them something was wrong with their vehicles, according to the Portland Police Bureau. When the victims stopped to investigate, the thieves robbed them.
Police said the pair successfully pulled off two heists in broad daylight on Sunday -- in one case driving off with a victim's car. They tried to rob two others, but the would-be victims were suspicious and took actions to prevent falling into their trap, according to police.
The first victim told police the driver of a silver Subaru with no plates told her to pull over because her gas tank was smoking. The woman stopped and the man driving the other vehicle began talking with her. While she was distracted, a teen got out of the Subaru, went around to the passenger side of the victim's car and stole her purse, police said. The suspects quickly got back into the Subaru and drove off.
As officers were conducting a follow-up investigation in the area of the crime, they were flagged down by a second person who told them a young man and a teenager in a silver-blue Subaru Forester flashed their lights at her and honked at her from behind. The suspects pulled up alongside her and told her that her vehicle was leaking fluids. She rolled down her window to talk with them and the teen attempted to get inside the car through the window. Police said the woman was able to prevent his entry and the suspects drove off.
A short time later, another victim called 911 to report that a silver or blue Subaru Forester pulled alongside her while she was sitting in her car. The driver yelled that the back of the woman's vehicle was leaking fluids and motioned for her to inspect it. When she got out of her car and walked to the back, a teen jumped in the driver's seat and drove off, police said.
Minutes after that call, 911 dispatchers took a call from another driver who reported that earlier in the day, a silver-bluish-gray Subaru pulled in front of them in an attempt to get them to pull over. Police said the caller was safely able to drive around the suspects, noting that the Subaru did not have license plates.
In all four cases, police said the victims described the driver as a black man in his late teens to early twenties, and his accomplice as a black juvenile male around 14-years-old.
Police are asking anyone with information about the road bandits to give them a call.
Anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation should "be aware of your surroundings and be careful" police said, adding "get yourself to a safe, public place to inspect your vehicle if possible."
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