加拿大温哥华祈福党一周内连骗两名长者近10万加元：警方调查两案是否关联
加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚省温哥华市警方10月28日通报，两起针对年长女性的「祈福消灾」骗局相隔一周发生，涉案财物总值接近10万加元，警方正调查两案是否关联。
第一起案件发生在10月16日下午1时左右。一名81岁的老妇在温哥华市 Victoria Drive 靠近 East 37th Avenue 的公交车站候车时，两名亚裔女子上前攀谈，并在交谈中打听到了她儿子们的情况。
随后一名男子加入谈话，声称只要将贵重物品拿去祈福，就能帮助她的儿子们恢复健康。老妇信以为真，回家取出约7000加元现金、一条金项链及一枚戒指交给该男子，收回的袋子里装的却是方便面和水，原本的现金及黄金首饰已不翼而飞。老妇的女儿随后报警。
仅仅一周后，10月23日上午10时30分左右，类似事件再次发生。一名79岁的老妇在温哥华市 Fraser Street 与 East 47th Avenue 交界处的公交车站遭到两名女子搭讪。
其中一名女子戴着口罩、身穿黑色衣服，告诉她如果不把家中的黄金和现金拿出来祈福、驱除邪灵，她最小的儿子就会死亡。穿黑衣的女子陪老妇乘公交车回家取物，再一同返回车站附近。老妇将约4万加元现金以及价值约5万加元的黄金和珠宝交给两名男子，回家打开背包才发现，现金和贵重物品已被换成方便面和瓶装水，仅这一案损失就约9万加元。
温哥华警方表示，两起案件作案方式高度相似，都是在公交车站接近年长女性，先通过交谈获取其家人信息，再以祈福消灾为由诱骗交出现金和贵重物品。警方呼吁知情者，或持有相关区域监控、行车记录仪画面的人士，拨打温哥华警方非紧急电话 604-717-3321 提供线索。
背景方面，温哥华警方今年7月曾警告，专门针对华裔长者的类似祈福骗局正在增加，宗数约为去年同期的两倍，截至7月24日已接获13起相关报告。警方在10月的通报中未明确本月两案受害人的族裔背景。
Canada: Two Vancouver Seniors Lose Nearly C$100,000 in Blessing Scams a Week Apart, Police Probe Possible Link
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada — Vancouver police said on October 28 that two blessing scams targeting elderly women occurred a week apart, with total losses approaching C$100,000, and investigators are examining whether the cases are linked.
In the first incident, at about 1 p.m. on October 16, two Asian women approached an 81-year-old woman waiting at a bus stop on Victoria Drive near East 37th Avenue and learned about her sons in conversation.
A man then joined them and convinced the victim that her sons could be healed if her valuables were blessed. She went home, collected about C$7,000 in cash, a gold necklace and a ring, and handed them to the man. The bag she received back contained instant noodles and water. Her daughter later called police.
A week later, at about 10:30 a.m. on October 23, a 79-year-old woman was approached by two women at a bus stop at Fraser Street and East 47th Avenue. One woman, wearing a mask and black clothing, told her that her youngest son would die if she did not bring her gold and money to be blessed to get rid of bad spirits.
The woman in black rode the bus home with the victim to retrieve the valuables and returned with her to the bus stop area. The victim handed about C$40,000 in cash and about C$50,000 in gold and jewelry to two men. Back home, she opened her backpack and found the money and valuables had been replaced with noodles and water bottles, a loss of about C$90,000 in that case alone.
Police said the two cases followed a highly similar pattern: approaching elderly women at bus stops, learning about their families through conversation, and using a blessing ritual as the pretext to take cash and valuables. Anyone with information, or CCTV or dashcam footage from the areas, is asked to call the Vancouver Police Department non-emergency line at 604-717-3321.
In July, Vancouver police warned that blessing scams targeting elderly Chinese victims were on the rise, with case numbers roughly double the same period a year earlier and 13 reports received as of July 24. Police did not specify the backgrounds of the victims in the two October incidents.
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：图：加拿大温哥华市街头的温哥华警察局警车（夜间）。William Sun 摄，CC0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / A Vancouver Police Department cruiser on a Vancouver street at night. Photo by William Sun, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
