Officials are warning that thieves are targeting seniors near places of worship in Surrey, B.C., by attempting to distract them while they make off with valuable items.
So-called “distraction thefts” involve perpetrators approaching their victims and reaching in close to grab jewelry, cash or other items — sometimes by swapping valuables with cheaper imitations — while the unsuspecting victim is distracted.
The Surrey Police Service (SPS) says that they investigated 50 reported distraction thefts last year, and have had four reports so far this year.
SPS spokesperson Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton said that all four reported distraction thefts this year were near gurdwaras.
“It’s concerning to us that these are happening in and around places of worship because those should be sanctuaries for people,” he told CBC News.
“Targeting people for criminal activity is completely inappropriate, obviously.”
Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton with the Surrey Police Service (SPS) advised seniors to keep their distance from strangers and not walk alone, if possible. (Sohrab Sandhu/CBC)
Surrey man Harwinder Singh Rai’s mother, who is in her 70s, had a suspicious interaction of her own at Gurdwara Sahib Dashmesh Darbar on 85 Avenue in late January.
Rai said two people in a grey Toyota SUV came up to his mother, who was walking alone outside the gurdwara.
“They offered, like, ‘Mom, I’ll give you ride,'” Rai recounted.
“So they try to speak, like, Punjabi language … they show their ring too. ‘I have a bigger ring, and I give it to you.'”
(Sohrab Sandhu/CBC)
Rai’s mother was suspicious of the interaction, and she told the people to leave — and later, she told gurdwara officials of the incident.
Moninder Singh, the spokesperson for Gurdwara Dashmesh Darbar and the B.C. Gurdwaras Council, said that thieves were preying on seniors’ goodwill and taking advantage of them.
“We’ve heard about this now for about a month now that it’s actually picking up,” he said.
“There may be incidents that happened before that, but we’ve seen in the last month or so, the activity has really picked up, especially concerning the elderly.”
B.C. Gurdwaras Council spokesperson Moninder Singh says seniors were being targeted and preyed on. (Sohrab Sandhu/CBC)
Singh said that seniors who may have a language barrier may trust people from their own community, and they’re also being targeted because of their age.
He said that seniors were often targeted with offers of rides during rainy or dark weather, for instance.
As Surrey continues to deal with a rash of extortion cases, Singh said that other forms of crime may be on the rise as police struggle to deal with extortion cases — and he said he’d like to see more resources deployed to deal with the issue.
Houghton said that, often, police are only notified of a distraction theft when the seniors’ family notices their valuable jewelry has been swapped for a worthless fake — something that can happen an hour or two after the fact, leaving investigators at a disadvantage.
He said police are advising seniors to be aware of their surroundings, not walk alone if possible and don’t openly wear expensive jewelry, if possible.
“If someone comes up to you and asks you for directions … keep that personal space, keep a distance away from them, don’t let anyone touch you,” he said.
“Don’t be afraid to yell for help. Create a distraction, if you will, back at them.”
If a senior has been the victim of a distraction theft, Houghton said they should call 911 immediately.