Two men claiming to be fundraisers for British Columbia Childrens Hospital have been skimming North Shore residents bank accounts, according to North Vancouver RCMP.
The clean-cut suspects have reportedly been going door-to-door over the holiday selling bags of coffee beans at a discount, according to the force. The men claimed the proceeds would go to the hospital, and promised buyers further savings if they used the handheld debit device the men were carrying with them.
People who swiped their cards in the machine never saw the donated amount deducted from their account, said investigators. Instead, information entered into the terminal which had been stolen from a store and modified to record data was reportedly used later to access victims bank accounts. In one case, a customer lost more than $800 to the scam, according to police.
The incident has prompted both the charity and the North Vancouver detachment to issue a warning to the public to be on the alert for the suspected fraudsters.
One of the men is described as Caucasian, approximately 30 years old, five feet 10 inches tall, 190 pounds with short brown hair. He was wearing a tan suit and dark overcoat. The other man was Asian, about 25 years old, five feet six inches tall and 140 pounds. He was wearing a Santa hat, a black jacket and black pants.
While the incident is upsetting, its unlikely to have a direct impact on the hospital, said Stephen Forgacs, a spokesman for the B.C. Childrens Hospital Foundation although in the long term, it wont make their job easier, he added.
If people start to question if its safe to donate at the door, that can have an impact on charities not just ours, said Forgacs.
The foundation is not fundraising door-to-door over the holiday, he said, and when it does, its volunteers wear clear identification and do not accept payment on the spot.
Anyone who wants to check the legitimacy of a fundraising volunteer for B.C. Childrens Hospital should call the foundation directly at 604-875-2444, he said.
So far, the charity has only received two calls on this particular fraud, said Forgacs.
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