The Calgary Police Service is warning Calgarians about recent distraction thefts and are seeking public assistance to identify multiple suspects believed to be responsible.
The scam starts with suspects observing victims as they enter their PIN, also known as shoulder-surfing, while they make purchases with their debit or credit card. It is believed the suspects then distract their victims, which provides an opportunity to steal their debit and credit cards.
We believe that numerous individuals work together in groups to steal financial information and target victims, often elderly individuals, at retail outlets where contactless payment, such as a tap payment, is not offered.
Following these thefts, victims have reported to police, instances of fraudulent withdraws of cash using their debit or credit cards, with some transactions purchasing pre-paid credit cards and other merchandise.
In January, a victim was shopping at the Walmart located at 8888 Country Hills Blvd N.W., and paid for merchandise using her debit card. Shortly after, she proceeded to her vehicle and realized her wallet containing her debit card had been stolen.
In March, a victim was leaving the Costco located at 75 East Hills Blvd S.E., when he had cash and a credit card stolen from his wallet. It is believed four suspects worked together to distract the victim, removed his wallet from his pocket, removed contents from the wallet and then returned the wallet back to the victim’s…
