A man apparently duped dozens of women into cutting up their shoes on the false promise that they would receive 40 new pairs, police said in Glendale, Calif.

One woman reported that the caller promised her 40 pairs of shoes over the next year if she destroyed her old ones. The woman cut up a $70 pair while the man listened, police said.When the woman called a number the man had given her, she reached Hughes Aircraft Co. Hughes has received about 40 phone calls in the past week from victims of the scheme, police said.

Only one woman called police. The others were probably too embarrassed, Sgt. Lief Nicolaisen said.

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