Police warn of potential rise in jewelry scams after Vancouver man bilked out of thousands of dollars
A Vancouver man is out thousands of dollars after a jewelry scam in the city’s east side, prompting a warning from police that similar incidents could be on the rise as weather warms up and provincial health restrictions ease.
In a statement Tuesday, the Vancouver Police Department confirms a 61-year-old resident of the Renfrew-Collingwood neighbourhood was ripped off on Monday afternoon.
Police say he was walking near Joyce Street and Vanness Avenue around 3 p.m. that day when a man and a woman in a white SUV approached him, claiming they needed money to feed their kids, and to buy a plane ticket home.
That’s when investigators allege the suspects traded him fake jewelry for $200 in cash, convinced him to take out thousands of dollars more from the bank, and even took him to a grocery store nearby, where he bought them hundreds of dollars in gift cards.
“It was only after the suspects were gone that the victim realized the jewelry was fake and that he’d been duped,” writes the Vancouver Police Department’s Sgt. Steve Addison.
Officers are investigating a similar incident from the same day, where a 51-year-old man was walking by himself near Commercial Drive and Napier Street. Police say a man and woman called him over to a parked car, showed him jewelry and tried to sell it to him.
“Fortunately, this man recognized it was a scam, because he’d seen stories on the local news about similar thefts,” writes Addison. “He confronted the suspects and they fled in a grey hatchback with Manitoba license plates.”
Police suggest that anyone approached by would-be scammers should tell them to leave immediately, then call officers and give them a description of the suspects and their vehicles.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Trudeau promises $1B in loans for child-care providers to expand care centres
The federal government is launching a new loan program to help child-care providers in Canada expand their spaces, and will be extending further student loan forgiveness and training options for early childhood educators, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday.
Spring allergy season has begun. Where is it worse in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
'Nonsense:' Doug Ford slams lawsuits filed by Ontario school boards against social media platforms
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
N.B. man wins $64 million from Lotto 6/49
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
Multiple bridges in Calgary shut down for police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
King Charles calls for acts of friendship in first public remarks since Kate's cancer diagnosis
King Charles III gave public remarks for Maundy Thursday, addressing the importance of acts of friendship, following his and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses.
Fallen crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison
Crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison for a massive fraud that unravelled with the collapse of FTX, once one of the world's most popular platforms for exchanging digital currency.
A dog and a bird formed an unlikely friendship. Their separation has infuriated followers
Peggy is a stout and muscular Staffordshire bull terrier, and Molly is a magpie, an Australian bird best known for swooping on humans during breeding season, not for befriending dogs. But in an emotional video posted online, Peggy’s owners announced that the animals had been separated.