Officers from the Collingwood and The Blue Mountains Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) are currently investigating a theft and attempted fraud which took place in Collingwood and wish to alert the public regarding the incident.
The incident began when the victim was conducting a purchase using a transaction card at a local store. One of the suspects distracted the cashier while the second suspect was looking over the victim’s shoulder to obtain the personal identification number (PIN) for the card being used. This type of fraud is commonly referred to as ‘shoulder surfing’.
Once the victim returned to her car with her purchases, one of the suspects distracted the victim while the second suspect gained entry into the car and rummages through her purse obtaining a debit card and credit card. Once the desired cards are obtained, the pair are seen running away from the scene and eventually make it to an ATM where they tried twice to obtain $1000, but to no avail.
Thankfully the victim realized shortly thereafter that her cards were missing and cancelled both cards before any withdrawals were made.
Investigation is ongoing and anyone with information that may help identify the suspects (see attached photos) is asked call Collingwood OPP at 1-705-445-4321 or if you wish to remain anonymous you can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). You can also leave an anonymous tip online at https://ontariocrimestoppers.ca/