Police are warning Calgarians to be vigilant following a string of what they are calling “distraction thefts.”
Police say between late January and early February, 12 distraction thefts were reported to police, often targeting seniors like one CPS identified as “Diane.”
On Jan. 31, Diane, 80, entered a major retail store in South Trail Crossing at around 3:45 p.m. After using her credit card, she headed to the exit and was approached by an unknown man offering to walk her to her car. She accepted and the man helped push her shopping cart, which contained her open purse.
The man helped Diane put her shopping bags in her car and then informed her she had a loose tire valve cap on one of her tires. She tightened the valve cap and noticed the man disappeared.
Police believe the man took her debit and credit cards from her open purse while she was distracted by the car maintenance.
Two days later, Diane reported the incident to police after discovering she had been defrauded of more than $21,000 in cash withdrawals and transactions using her debit and credit cards shortly after the interaction with the unknown man.
Police say that in distraction crimes, the scammer often observes a victim enter a card PIN — also known as shoulder-surfing — during a transaction and will signal an accomplice to proceed with a distraction tactic to steal the victim’s debit and credit cards.
Police believe two to four suspects are working in tandem and are targeting vulnerable victims at major retail chains.
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In each of the dozen incidents reported to police, the victims made a purchase in the same manner and were approached by an unknown person while leaving the retailer or while in the parking lot.
“Seniors are common targets for fraudsters as they take advantage of their good nature and believe that elderly people have plenty of money in the bank,” Const. Shaun Vandal said in a statement.
“We are asking Calgarians to be mindful of this scam and their surroundings while shopping. If you encounter someone who is in extremely close proximity to you, proceed to a safe place and report the incident to store staff or police.”
Anyone with information about Diane’s incident or other distraction thefts can call the CPS non-emergency line at 403-266-1234 or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers.