A string of thefts targeting elderly people with English as a second language has Vancouver Police issuing a warning that officers hope will be passed along to potential targets.
“Education is key. We want people to tell a friend, get out there talk to your neighbours, talk to your loved ones and just let them know these types of things are happening,” Vancouver Police Department (VPD) spokesperson Const. Jason Doucette said.
WATCH: Vancouver police warn about distraction thefts
Police have received reports of eight of the so-called distraction thefts in just under a month; the victims have been seen openly wearing jewelry that suspects have successfully gotten away with.
The thefts involve strangers getting out of vehicles and approaching people, making various excuses to make contact with them.
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The thieves tend to overwhelm the victims, Doucette said, getting into their personal space, before trying to make away with valuables like necklaces, earnings and rings.
“Some suspects are conversational and very pleasant while others remain very frantic and asking for assistance,” Doucette said.
“The thieves are very smooth and will get into your personal space very quickly. It’s often well after the fact that the [suspects] are gone that the victims realize their jewelry has been stolen.”
Police are trying to get the message out about this scam while reminding people not to let any strangers get into their personal space, instead, take a step back and call 911.
In one instance, a 70-year-old Chinese woman, whose second language is English, was approached in her driveway by two suspects who started to overwhelm her, said Doucette. They immediately approached her and tried to talk to her before trying to put rings on her fingers and a necklace on her neck.
“She did the right thing. She became uncomfortable, she could feel that they were trying to remove a piece of her jewelry,” Doucette said.
Although the woman did push away, the suspects got away with a piece of her valuable jewelry. That theft occurred around 5 p.m. on May 22 near East 1st Avenue and Renfrew Street.
A week later, on May 30, a frantic woman got out of her vehicle and went right up to an Italian woman, who also speaks English as a second language, and started asking for help, according to police.
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The woman started asking for directions to the nearest hospital indicating her sick child is in the car.
The elderly woman provided directions and, in a show of gratitude for the help, the suspect responded by going in to give her a hug.
“While she was doing that, she started removing the victim’s necklace from her neck,” Doucette said.
“The woman, who had a cane, used that cane, she hit the suspect who ran off, said I’m sorry, don’t call the police.”
That’s when a second suspect got out of the same vehicle and approached the elderly woman asking for forgiveness.
With a variety of suspects and vehicles associated with these crimes, police said they’re not providing a specific suspect description.
It’s believed multiple groups of people are involved in these crimes.
“We don’t want these people targetting the elderly,” Doucette said.
“It’s just completely uncalled-for in my opinion.”
The eight reported thefts all appear to have occurred in the East Vancouver area.
“Why they’re targeting that area, we don’t know… there’s one instance where an elderly person was approached in a Value Village so it’s not just at homes,” Doucette said.
Anyone who is approached by these suspects is asked to call 911 immediately.
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