Police are searching for an unknown man accused of telling women they have a tick on them to get them to strip. Police say the man goes to businesses where women from the ages of 17 to 30 are working alone, such as tanning salons and small retail establishments, to carry out the scheme.

According to Waukesha Police Sgt. John Konkol, he has told women at at least seven businesses that they have a tick on their clothes and should take them off to find it.

Konkol tells the AP, "We don't know what his potential gain is, if it's sexual gratification or he's trying to be funny, but it's a serious crime."

Hali Frankowski says a man came into Waukesha's Sunset Tan and asked her to show him the tanning beds. Then he told her she had a tick on her shirt.

"He was like 'It's right there.' That's when he took my pants, pulled them down, pulled them over, and that's when I jumped and started walking toward the bathroom," she says.

According to police the incidents have occurred at three locations in Waukesha, two in Muskego, and at least one in Franklin and in Hales Corners. Women say the man is white, between 45 and 55 and around 6 feet tall. They say he has gray hair and is unshaven.

Muskego Police Sgt Craig Simuncak tells the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that police have a "good lead on a suspect." If he is caught, he could be charged with fourth-degree sexual assault of disorderly conduct.