CALGARY — Calgary police have issued a heads-up to every Calgarian, after filing 156 charges against a half-dozen individuals who are allegedly responsible for a series of recent distraction thefts that have taken place in the city.

The scam starts with a suspect observing someone enter their PIN, usually at a retail outlet that doesn’t offer tap payments.

Working in groups of two or three, they approach a victim, telling them they dropped a $20 bill. When the victim checks their wallets, one person distracts them, creating opportunities for the others to steal the victim’s debit or credit card.

Once in possession of the credit or debit card and the victim’s PIN number, they withdraw cash to purchase pre-paid credit cards or other things.

Police laid 156 charges, including fraud, identity theft, identity fraud, participation in a criminal organization, possession of a stolen credit card and possession of proceeds of crime against the following six people: 42-year-old Elvis Stoian (38 charges), 32-year-old Verginica Munteanu (31 charges), 43-year-old Cornelia Gologan (20 charges), 31-year-old Costica Marin (7 charges), 47-year-old Petrache Dadaci (30 charges), and 43-year-old Persida Corciu (30 charges).

Anyone with information about distraction thefts, or the wherabouts of the suspects is asked to contact Calgary police at 403-266-1234 or Crime Stoppers.