This article comes from Abbotsford Mission Times: Two men fake identities to steal from senior citizens Tricia Leslie, The Times Published: Tuesday, June 17, 2008 Abbotsford Police are investigating a scam involving two men who have been posing as carpet cleaners in order to steal from elderly victims. Similar reports have been received in Chilliwack, police said Friday, and since June 9, there have been three separate incidents reported in Abbotsford. In each incident, the suspect offers to check or clean the carpets of a senior for free. Once inside the home, the victim is distracted and cash and valuables are stolen. Targeting and preying on elderly people who are vulnerable really is disgusting," said Abbotsford Police Const. Casey Vinet. "These guys should be ashamed of themselves." Reported incidents include: On June 9 in the early afternoon, two men buzzed a suite in a building at 31955 Old Yale Rd. and offer ed the 95-year-old tenant free carpet cleaning. Once inside, one suspect distracted the woman while the other helped himself to several cheques and a change purse, said police. The two left, but returned later to convince the woman they needed $80 for their car, which they said had broken down. Just before 3 p.m. June 9, a man convinced an 84-year-old tenant to let him in to Regency Park Towers at 3150 Gladwin Rd., to see if his carpets needed cleaning. Once inside, the suspect stole the man's wallet. On June 11, a man got into a building at 33352 Marshall Rd. and convinced an 80-year-old tenant to let him in to give her an estimate on carpet cleaning. Once inside, the suspect stole the woman's wallet from her bedroom. "The best way to protect yourself is not to let anyone in your home for any reason unless you know and trust them," said Vinet. "Unsolicited phone calls and visits from people you don't know should immediately raise a red flag that the person may be trying to scam you," he added. The suspects are described as white men between the ages of 30 to 40, one with brown hair and a stocky build; the other, with a slender build and "possibly olive skin tone." On Monday, Vinet said no arrests have yet been made by police, but "we have a number of leads we're following up on." Anyone with information is asked to call Abbotsford Police at 604-859-5225 or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
