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Calgary Police are going public in hopes of capturing a flimflam man who pretends to be locked out of his office to trick people into giving him cash.

Police say the man is believed to have used the fraudulent pretence of needing to pay a locksmith to try to trick workers at seven coffee shops and other businesses in Calgary into giving him money.

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An incident at a Kensington coffee shop last month is being used by police as an example of how the ruse works.

The man entered the coffee shop on Kensington Road NW around 5:30 p.m. and asked the clerk about catering an event. When she asked him for a number that the store’s catering planner could call, the man said he would get a business card from his office down the street.

The man returned to the coffee shop a short time later and told the same clerk that he had been locked out of his office and needed $60 for a locksmith to get back in. He eventually persuaded her to give him the money by offering to leave his reading glasses and a watch as collateral.

He never returned for them after leaving the shop.

Police say the man has been using the name “John” and varies his story a bit from store to store.

They’re hoping someone will recognize the man from the surveillance images released Wednesday and call them or Calgary CrimeStoppers.