Winnipeggers should use extra caution when punching in PINs and be aware of their surroundings in stores and parking lots after using bank cards amid co-ordinated pickpocket frauds taking place across the city, police said Wednesday.

The Winnipeg police have received several reports of stolen debit cards, and the circumstances surrounding the thefts suggest they are part of a well-planned scam, Winnipeg police said in a news release Wednesday.

In each case, victims had been shopping at stores with big adjacent parking lots. While paying for purchases using debit cards, it's believed someone would peer over the shoulders of unsuspecting shoppers in check-out lines as they punched in their bank codes.

After leaving the stores, thieves would approach victims in parking lots and attempt to distract them before pilfering their entire wallets. The distractions have involved pointing out money on the ground or a possible flat tire, police said.

Most victims of the pickpocket scams have been targeted at grocery stores with large adjacent parking lots in Winnipeg, police say. (Shutterstock / Apple's Eyes Studio)

Before they knew it, multiple people were missing their debit cards, plus the security of their PINs, leading to significant financial losses, police said.

The thefts have occurred at several locations throughout the city, mostly at large grocery stores.

Police said they believe it could be an individual acting alone or a pair of thieves, often a man and woman working together.