‘I don't want to see anyone else's mother go through this’ - Mayo woman

A County Mayo woman is appealing to the public to be vigilant following a distraction theft that saw her elderly mother robbed of €700 in a Roscommon supermarket car park.

Newport woman Caroline is speaking out after her 79-year-old mother became the victim of an elaborate scam in the Tesco car park in Roscommon, with her wallet containing €700 from her husband's double pension being stolen.

The incident occurred last Friday when her mother had collected her father's double pension before traveling to Roscommon for her regular fortnightly shopping trip.

After completing her shopping in Tesco and loading bags into the boot of her car, the elderly woman sat into the driver's seat with her handbag on the passenger side. It was then that a man knocked on her window.

"The person said, 'Come out to her,' and said, 'I hit you. I hit you,'" Caroline explained. "So she got out of the car, followed the man around the back of the car, and he had a tissue in his hand, and he rubbed the boot or the bumper of the car down low, underneath the ridge of the car."

READ MORE: Two Mayo butchers receive awards at national sausage competition

While the victim was distracted examining the alleged damage, an accomplice entered the vehicle and stole her wallet.

The theft wasn't immediately apparent. "She didn't realize straight away, because she ended up going to another shop when she realized her handbag or my wallet was gone," said the Newport woman. Her mother initially thought she had simply misplaced it, returning to Tesco thinking she'd left it at the checkout.

Upon reporting the incident to Gardaí, her mother discovered she wasn't alone. "There was another woman ahead of her. Same thing again, that got to my mother and somebody else in the space of 40 minutes in the car park," she said.

An Garda Síochána have confirmed to The Mayo News that Gardaí in Roscommon are investigating two incidents of theft from cars at a carpark in Ballypheason between 3:30pm and 3:40pm on 6th February 2026.

Cash and a mobile phone were taken and investigations are ongoing.

Caroline is now determined to raise awareness to prevent similar incidents. "I just want this story to get out there that people know to be more cautious," she said. "I'm just getting the story out there that people are aware to be more cautious when they're collecting pensions, when they're doing their daily shopping."

READ MORE: Mayo developer appeals 'extortionate price' charged for Newport footpath levy

She emphasized that such crimes could happen anywhere and urged people, particularly the elderly, to remain vigilant. "From now on, as soon as you leave the back door at this house, you're in protection mode now," she advised her mother.

She also highlighted the vulnerability created by carrying traditional handbags. "My mother is that age where she would have carried a handbag as opposed to an over the shoulder bag."

Her message is clear and heartfelt: "I don't want to see anyone else's mother go through what my poor mother went through last Friday night, and still going through. I don't want this happening to anyone else's mother or elderly person."