Homeless man 'covered in bruises' scammed vulnerable victims out of almost £500

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A scammer who persuaded vulnerable strangers to hand over almost £500 is "probably one of society's most vulnerable himself", a court was told.

Brian Mains tricked two victims to give him more that £470 in March last year, just months after he was convicted of similar offences.

According to Teesside Live, the latest individuals to fall for his ploy said they were left feeling "frustrated" and "stressed" after realising they had been scammed.

Teesside Magistrate's Court heard how one person was targeted by the fraudster outside a doctor's surgery in Durham city. John Garside, prosecuting, said: "He was approached and told by the defendant that he needed help and asked him for some help."He [the victim] said he was vulnerable and felt preyed on by Mains."He said, 'I wasn't really concentrating and felt like I needed to help him'."Mains took the man to a cash machine and persuaded him to withdraw cash."The whole time I felt pressured by him," he said."He asked for my phone number to pay me back."He rang me the next Saturday and said I needed to a make a money transfer to him for a charge.