Brockville police warn of distraction jewelry thefts after two incidents

Brockville, Ontario, police are alerting the public to a series of distraction thefts targeting jewelry. Two recent incidents, one on July 4 and another on June 10, involved suspects approaching victims, attempting to sell them necklaces, and then swapping the victim's real jewelry for counterfeit items.

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Your guard is down because you’re just going to get your groceries, which is unfortunate. Protect yourself and protect your belongings.

Insp. Darryl Boyde of the Brockville Police Service described how suspects convince victims to try on jewelry, using the opportunity to remove the victim's original necklace. The victim often doesn't realize the switch until after the suspects have departed. "Your guard is down because you’re just going to get your groceries, which is unfortunate," Boyde said, urging people to "protect yourself and protect your belongings."

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Not only is there a significant financial loss, but there’s often sentimental value attached to these items.

Beyond the financial loss, Boyde noted that these stolen items often hold significant sentimental value. Police have also received reports of individuals purchasing counterfeit jewelry from these suspects, only to discover its lack of authenticity later. "If it seems too good to be true, it probably isn’t (true)," Boyde advised, encouraging vigilance and caution when approached by strangers selling items, especially in parking lots.

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If it seems too good to be true, it probably isn’t (true). Be aware of your surroundings. If you’re approached by one or more people trying to sell you something, especially jewelry in a parking lot, those are red flags.

Local pawn shop owner Wade Betts stated his business implements strict policies, including police checks on purchased items, photo identification, item photography, and signed contracts. This creates a paper trail for investigators. "Even if it was sold, we have a paper trail showing who brought it in," Betts said. "If we come across something that seems stolen, we won’t buy it." He also urged the public to document valuable jewelry, providing this information to businesses like his to aid in recovery efforts.

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We’ve always had a policy of conducting police checks on the items we buy. We take photo identification, photograph every item and have signed contracts, so if something does come in here, there are ways of finding out who it belongs to.