A vulnerable 61-year-old man was scammed out of $460 recently by two men who sold him fake gold jewelry.
According to a statement from Victoria Police, the victim was walking in the 600-block of Craigflower Road at around 3 p.m. on November 21 when two men in a parked vehicle called him over.
They convinced him to buy what looked like two gold rings and two gold chains from them, and when the victim said he didn’t have enough money to pay for them, they drove him to an ATM.
The scammers stood by while the man withdrew the amount, and in total, made away with $460 of the victim’s money.
They then drove him back to the area where they had initially picked him up. The incident was reported to police on November 29, after the jewelry turned out to be fake.
The suspects are described as two Middle Eastern adult men with full beards and thick accents, and have difficulty speaking English.
They were driving a grey or silver newer model medium-sized sedan with four doors.
A similar attempted fraud by suspects who match this description was reported to Saanich Police on November 22.
On that date, two men in a silver vehicle tried to convince a 26-year-old man to get into their car and buy a gold ring. The man refused.
Victoria Police are now warning the public of these incidents and ask that anyone who is approached by a suspicious person offering to sell jewelry should refuse, leave the area, and call police.
Anyone with information about this incident or the suspects is asked to call VicPD at (250) 995-7654 ext 1. To report what you know anonymously, call Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
