Since Wednesday, the suspect has gone into a furniture store, dental offices and an auto dealership posing as a customer, according to South San Francisco police.
He identified himself as Mike or Michael and engaged employees in long conversations, sometimes telling them he recently inherited a large sum of money, police said.
When the employees were distracted, the man stole electronics from their desks, police said.
The same suspect is believed to have stolen five iPhones and one iPad from employees at businesses in South San Francisco and Burlingame, police said.
He was described as a white man between 25 and 30 years old, around 6 feet 2 inches tall with shaggy brown hair. Investigators believe he might have recently shaved his head.
He has been seen wearing a T-shirt with a "LRG" brand logo on the front.
Video surveillance photos of the suspect can be seen on the city of South San Francisco website at: http://www.ssf.net/index.aspx?NID1017.
Anyone who thinks they might have been the victim of a similar crime or who may have information about the suspect is asked to contact South San Francisco police Detective Mike Garcia at (650) 877-8916.
