Police are warning that two men posing as campaigners for the BC Children's Hospital Foundation are actually stealing debit card information and defrauding North Shore residents of hundreds of dollars.
Mounties say the suspects are going door-to-door in North Vancouver, selling Starbucks coffee beans at a reduced price in return for donations. They encourage donors to pay by debit for extra savings, but then swipe the card on a mobile terminal that records the card information.
"The donor's bank account is never debited the actual donated amount," Cpl. Richard De Jong said in a release.
"But now with the collected debit information they are able to withdraw money from the victim's account."
On Tuesday, a single victim had $808 stolen from their account.
The two suspects were last seen travelling in a light brown, four-door car. One man is white, about 5-10 tall and 190 lbs., about 30 years old, with short, light brown hair and was last seen in a tan suit and dark overcoat. His accomplice is said to be Asian, 5-6 tall, 140 lbs., about 25 years old, and wearing a red and white Santa hat, black jacket and black pants.
The BC Children's Hospital Foundation says it is not currently doing a fundraising drive, and anyone who believes they have been targeted in this scam is asked to call police.
