Durham police seeking group of suspects after multiple distraction thefts in Whitby

Durham Regional Police are searching for a group of distraction thieves after they distracted an elderly man at a Talize thrift store in Whitby.

Officers responded to the call on Feb. 13 at around 3:05 p.m. at the store on Thickson Road, just south of Dundas Street East.

Investigators said one of four suspects approached an elderly man who was shopping and took the wallet from his pocket.

They removed cash and threw the wallet to the ground. The victim picked up his wallet, without realizing his money was taken.

Durham police spokesperson, Dave Selby, told Global News that police are working closely with several stores to see if they’re able to identify who the suspects are.

Previous cases include incidents that occurred between Dec. 22, 2018 and Jan. 18 at Walmart stores in the region.

Investigators said those suspects would use “shoulder surfing” to steal pin numbers and then later outside of the store, they would distract the victims and steal their wallets.

Officers describe the suspects from this particular incident as males aged 30 to 40 years old.

Anyone with further information are asked to call police at 1-88-579-1520 ext. 1877 or anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.