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WINNIPEG – A Winnipeg retail worker is being credited for the tip that led to the arrest of four Vancouver men accused of multiple fraud-related offences.

When two men tried to buy gift cards at a store in the Sterling Lyon Parkway and Kenaston Boulevard area on Monday, the employee noticed a discrepancy between the card number and the receipt and called police, Const. Rob Carver said.

The men later went to a retail store in the Bishop Grandin Boulevard and St. Mary’s Road area and successfully bought a number of gift cards using fraudulent payment cards, Carver said.

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Police found a vehicle associated with the two men in the 1800 block of Pembina Highway on Thursday and arrested four men. They also found a large number of forged payment cards in the vehicle, Carver said.

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Police then searched a building in the 400 block of Century Street and found more forged payment cards, he said.

If they hadn’t received the tip from the employee at the first store, the men likely would have left town before police could find them, Carver said.

“That led to the arrest,” he said. “That was absolutely critical.”

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Typically, this type of fraud is perpetrated over a short timeframe in a large urban centre, then the criminals move on to another city to avoid being caught, Carver explained.

The four men are charged with being part of a criminal organization, unauthorized use of credit card data, possessing property obtained by crime, conspiracy to commit an indictable offence and fraud under $5,000. All four are being held in custody.

Winnipeg investigators will look into whether these men are part of a larger group of fraudsters and contact police in Vancouver to see if they are investigating similar crimes that may have been perpetrated by these men.