VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Vancouver Police have a couple of suspects in mind but still haven’t made any arrests in the long-running “blessing scam” targeting the Chinese community.

The crime is a North America-wide problem; that’s why police have teamed up with agencies like the CBSA, US Secret Service, and the NYPD to help them identify suspects.

Sergeant Joe Chu says elderly Chinese women are essentially being targeted for their cultural beliefs. They are talked into handing over their life savings to have jewellery blessed.

“They’ve kept the jewellery, hoping to hand it down to the next generation; the next thing you know, everything is gone. So, not only is it financial loss — [there’s also] the emotional devastation we can’t put a dollar figure on. I’m sure there are victims out there right now that have bags of what they think is their jewellery and gold and it’s not.”

The victims, who are mainly being targeted in East Vancouver, are told not to tell anyone about the bag, not open it, and to keep it under their bed.

Chu adds some victims have lost as much as $30,000 and to date, there have been 13 reported cases in Vancouver.

“I remember hearing through the grapevine that one lady was suicidal because she had lost so much, and it was jewellery that she was going to pass down to the next generation.”

The VPD says too often, victims are reluctant to come forward because they are embarrassed.

“We want to ensure victims that we will take their reports seriously. We want them to come forward and speak to the police if they’ve been scammed in any way or have been the target of a crime. We’ve made previous appeals for victims to come forward and again we’re doing that today,” says Constable Brian Montague.

If you have been scammed or know someone who has you can call the VPD or call the Chinese Community Policing Centre at 604.688.5030; they have staff who speak both Mandarin and Cantonese.