Sanford police are warning the public about a scam artist who used an innocent bystander to steal a package from the doorsteps of a home in the Whichers Mills Road neighborhood.

Cpl. Matthew Gagne issued a press release Sunday evening describing the fraud scheme that an unidentified male used Friday evening on an unsuspecting woman.

The incident, which was reported initially on the Sanford Police Department’s Facebook page, attracted more than 167,000 page views, more than 3,600 shares and 144 comments, said Gagne, who is the department’s social media coordinator.

According to police, a resident of Whichers Mills Road had previously installed a still camera, which captured an image of a woman removing a package off his front steps Friday evening. Police posted the woman’s photograph on the department’s Facebook page in hopes that someone could identify her.

The woman turned herself in to police after learning that she was wanted as a suspect. Her photograph has since been removed from Facebook. She told police that she had been driving on Stebbins Road and was flagged down by a man around 60 years old with short facial hair.

He had been carrying a brown duffel bag on his shoulder and was using a walking stick.

The man said he was “winded” and walking to his brother’s house, but had inadvertently left a box on the Whichers Mills Road resident’s front steps.

“She obliged and went to the victim’s house and picked up the package and gave it to the suspect. She was offered money for her troubles, which she didn’t accept and proceeded to her destination,” Gagne said in the press release.

“She felt sorry for him,” Gagne said Sunday evening. “This individual flagged her down and used her to commit a crime.”

Sanford police are cautioning the public to use “caution and skepticism” if they are asked to help someone.

“You might unknowingly be victimized and a suspect in a crime,” the press release said.

Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 791-6365 or at:

dhoey@pressherald.com