Stores get a rocket in the Case of the Smelly Fraudster

Retailers let an unkempt, smelly, white New Zealander use a foreign credit card that carried the name of a Korean woman.

The card was among items allegedly stolen from the woman as she slept at a Wanaka youth hostel on Sunday night and by early yesterday had been used to buy jewellery and sunglasses worth $2500.

The purchases were made in Arrowtown and Frankton by a 180cm tall, white New Zealand man who Detective Derek Shaw said "in no way matched the expectations you would have for the owner of a foreign credit card".

"This man really stands out. He is best described as dishevelled - the people we have spoken to said he smells terrible - and he has a missing front tooth, unkempt clothes and a couple of days' growth on his face.

"And yet the retailers who were presented with the card issued by an Asian bank, with the name and date of birth of a Korean woman on the back, let him use it to buy $2500 worth of goods.

"I don't know why alarm bells did not ring when this man presented this card.

"Perhaps people are being less than vigilant and that's not really acceptable."

Mr Shaw urged retailers to take more care when accepting a credit card and to scrutinise the name and the origin of the card, and the customer, before validating a sale.

"From our point of view it is pretty basic. If the card is not obviously owned by the person who presents it, don't accept it."

The card was cancelled at 10.10am yesterday, just eight minutes after the last recorded transaction, but it was possible the man would try to use it again.

It was also possible the man would try to convert Korean and United States banknotes allegedly taken with the woman's credit card, and sell cameras and personal effects, Mr Shaw warned.

"It is possible that this man is working his way around the area, and anyone who sees him or has any information about him should contact either Wanaka or their nearest police."

The woman was still in Wanaka, where she was being looked after by locals.

- NZPA