Vancouver police have arrested two men accused of impersonating cops and convincing tourists to hand over their wallets in a string of 13 recent thefts.
Sgt. Randy Fincham said the crime spree started on Sept. 17 and predominantly targeted Asian visitors in the West End, Waterfront and Kitsilano areas.
A third suspect who posed as a victim during the scam and possibly spoke Cantonese and Japanese has also been arrested, Fincham said.
“The Asian suspect in this case allegedly approached the victims, intervened into a conversation, and then it was these two other white men came over posing as police,” he said.
The fake police allegedly ordered tourists to hand over their wallets and passports, sneakily stole any available cash and credit cards, then handed the items back.
“It wasn’t until later when [victims] went to a store to buy something that they realized their cash was missing, their credit cards were missing, or even the possibility that their credit card information had been taken by sleight of hand,” Fincham said.
The suspects, who haven’t been named, are all facing charges of theft and impersonating a police officer.
Anyone who may have fallen victim to the scam is asked to call the Vancouver police non-emergency line at 604-717-3321.
