THESE CCTV images show the moment a Chelmsford man foiled an alleged internet identity thief.
Chris Burt, 64, was surprised to find a TomTom SatNav had been delivered to his home in Great Cobb, Springfield, on February 20, when he had not ordered one.
So he contacted the mail order company who sent it to find that he had been the victim of an alleged identity theft.
The firm told Mr Burt that a fraudster had managed to set up a false account with online shopping website Isme using his details and had purchased the SatNav to be delivered to Mr Burt's home. They asked him to post it back.
But the next day there was a knock at the door and a man appeared in a delivery uniform, holding the paperwork for the TomTom, before claiming he was there to collect the device on behalf of the company, Mr Burt told the Chronicle.
But when Mr Burt asked him for ID, the man said he would go and get it from his car but drove off.
Mr Burt, a self-employed salesman, said: "It was my wife, Jane, 61, who answered the door but passed him over to me.
"As soon as he started speaking I knew something was fishy and that's why I asked for his ID card.
"To be honest he was pretty amateur. Anyone can make up a fake ID card on printed paper, and use a laminator – you can get all that done in an office supplies shop.
"He was good but he wasn't that good – if he had the ID card I may have handed it over.
"Apparently these thefts happen in spates of about five or six at a time, and I don't think these guys would come all the way from London, so I reckon they are local.
"I followed him with a pen and paper to note down his registration number and at that moment he drove away in his BMW.
"He might be alone or part of a ring of people setting up false accounts and getting deliveries to different houses in the area."
Mr Burt managed to catch images of the visitor using his own CCTV camera, which he installed to protect his home.
He contacted the police to report the incident, but because he was not a victim of fraud they would not investigate it.
So he called upon the fraud officer of Isme to make a formal complaint to Essex Police, who arrested a man on Friday.
He was released on police bail pending further inquiries.
Mr Burt said the fraud officer for Isme estimated that the criminals could be knocking on five doors a day, making around £5,000 from stolen goods a week.
He added: "I'm not a Victor Meldrew from that TV show who likes to complain all the time, I just think something needs to get done. Who knows how many people this is happening to?"
