Vancouver police say three separate scams have bilked people in the local Chinese community out of a total of $6 million since the beginning of 2024.
So far this year, 26 files have been opened, the VPD says, and it suspects many more victims have yet to come forward.
“Vulnerable and unsuspecting people in our community are being tricked into sending thousands of dollars to people they’ve never met,” says Const. Tania Visintin.
“By the time they realize they’ve been scammed, the fraudsters have disappeared and their money is gone.”
One of the schemes involves total strangers approaching someone and convincing them that they will have bad luck if they don’t pay the suspect in cash or jewelry.
“The suspects prey on the victim’s spiritual beliefs and fear that bad things will happen to their loved ones,” police said in a news release.
“In some cases, the scammers will exchange jewelry and cash for a worthless gift.”
Another hoax has victims getting phone calls from a spoofed number from someone claming to be a Chinese police officer.
“The victim is told that they are in trouble with the authorities in China because their phone or identity has been used to commit crimes,” the VPD said.
“They are then tricked into sending money to banks located in Hong Kong to clear up the matter.”
A third deception involves victims responding to job ads on posters written in traditional Chinese.
“The poster offers the potential of earning $100 to $300 per day making jewelry or artwork,” police said.
“Once the victim calls for more details about the job, the scam switches to a romance or investment scam.”
Visintin says the VPD is working to investigate the crimes and identify suspects.
“We’re asking everyone, especially those in the Chinese community, to spread the word about these scams with elderly family and friends,” she said.
“We don’t want anyone else to be victimized.”
Anyone who may have fallen victim to these scams is asked to the the VPD non-emergency line at 604-717-3321 to report it.