Hugging bandit: Edmonton senior falls victim to distraction theft

An Edmonton senior was taking her daily walk last week when a vehicle pulled over and a bizarre interaction occurred.

The man in the car told 70-year-old Parwati Parwati to come closer. Parwati said she didn’t feel nervous, because there was a woman and two small kids inside.

When she got closer, the man said she looked like his grandmother who passed away, and he gave her a ring. When Parwati tried to refuse and say no, he asked her to wear it for a few minutes to bless it.

She didn’t want to be rude. Soon, he put more jewelry on her, and as part of the blessing pulled her in for a hug.

But what seemed to be a kind exchange really turned out to be a scam.

While the man put on a cheap necklace on Parwati, he subtly stole her real necklace — a gold chain with a religious figure pendant.

“I just cried. I thought, oh my God, where is my chain? And then I (thought) they’re not good people,” Parwati said.

She said the people in the car were very nice and that is why she approached them. She wasn’t sure if they needed help.

Parwati’s grandson, Sahil Prasad, posted the incident to Facebook, hoping to warn others.

He said people have commented on the post, claiming something similar has happened to them.

“Don’t go near strangers. Stay away from strangers if you’re on a walk, if possible,” Prasad said.

Prasad said his grandmother hasn’t left the house alone since the incident — she is traumatized.

Alberta RCMP said they have received a number of reports related to gold and jewelry scams. The robbery will often happen in parking lots across Alberta.

The scam follows a pattern: a victim is approached or flagged down by a seemingly stranded motorist. The scammer will use different tactics — they need money for food, gas or airfare to get home — and offer gold or jewelry for exchange.

In some cases, it’s been reported the thieves will use distraction techniques to remove real jewelry from a victim and replace it with something cheap.

Fraud prevention educator Julie Matthews said these scammers will often target the elderly.

“They know seniors can be more trusting and possibly not react in the same way and notice that their jewelry was removed,” Matthews said.

“We want people to know it’s OK to say no, it’s OK to say no loudly.

“Don’t be afraid to yell for help and get the attention of people around you.”

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Matthews said the scammers are professionals at this, and follow a script.

“People need to know, (scammers) are very convincing. They may have children or other family members with them — because they know this makes them seem less threatening and you may let your guard down and let them get closer to you,” she said.

Matthews stresses it’s important to take actions to protect yourself.

“Protect your own personal space. Don’t let someone get that close to you, trust your gut. If something seems off you need to trust that and know it’s OK to say no or walk away,” Matthews said.

Don’t trust strangers, she added. They will try to scam you when you don’t expect it.

“That goes for in-person in a parking lot when we are gassing up our vehicles, to loading our groceries into our car, to being online and clicking on the wrong thing.”

“Nowadays we need to second guess everything.”

Matthews said many people feel ashamed if they fall victim to a scam, but it’s important to report it to police.

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