Oak Bay Police advise to always be wary of any request for information such as social insurance or banking information, without being sure of legitimacy after a resident received a scam email last week.
On Jan. 15 a citizen told police he received an email claiming to be from Revenue Canada stating he had a refund coming. He provided his full name, date of birth and social insurance number, then received a second email asking for further information. The resident called Revenue Canada and learned the email was a fraud.
Link investigated in credit card fraud
Oak Bay Police continue to investigate after two men arrested on the West Shore match the description of suspects in an Oak Bay incident. On Jan. 13 police received a report about two men claiming to be from Vancouver who made $1,500 worth of gift card purchases at Starbucks in Oak Bay using prepaid credit cards, many of which were declined. On Jan. 12, West Shore RCMP arrested two men from the Lower Mainland for fraud, having used this same system in Duncan and Langford.
Thieves strike out
While would-be thieves didn’t get in, Oak Bay Police responded to a report of an attempted break and enter at the MacLaurin Building at UVic on Jan. 12. The attempt was on the first floor of the building where musical instruments were kept. No property was taken.
Impaired drivers nabbed
Roadside screenings brought a couple of driving prohibitions and some tickets for drivers last week.
On Jan. 16 shortly after 11 p.m. Oak Bay Police conducting an impaired driving check stop on Beach Drive by Mount Joy Avenue spotted a truck approaching quickly and almost failing to stop. Officers noted odours of liquor and marijuana on the novice driver with a class 7 licence and administered roadside screening tests. The 19-year-old driver was issued a 90-day roadside prohibition and his vehicle was impounded for 30 days. The man was also issued a ticket for driving with too many passengers in contravention of his licensing requirements as well as for speeding.
A few hours later at around 2:30 a.m. Oak Bay Police pulled over a vehicle on Oak Bay Avenue and a subsequent investigation revealed the 35-year-old Victoria male driver had been consuming alcohol. After a roadside screening test, the man was issued an immediate three-day driving prohibition and his vehicle was impounded for three days.
Safeguard vehicles
Lock your cars while you’re away is a refrain Oak Bay Police maintain. They received reports of four thefts from unlocked cars on Jan. 12. Three were on Thorpe Place and the other on Lincoln Road. Small amounts of change were taken from three of the cars each and the fourth had $800 worth of various items stolen. Police continue to strongly encourage citizens to remove all items from the interior of vehicles and to lock your car when unoccupied.
Leaf blower stolen
A thief got away with a Husqvarna leaf blower after a break and enter to a Foul Bay Road shed on Jan. 13.
Oak Bay Police were called to the shed behind an apartment building after a male was observed by a resident lifting the shed door. The suspect grabbed a piece of equipment and left quickly, meeting up with a second male. The witness went to notify her husband and upon return, the two males were already gone. The leaf blower is a grey Husqvarna 145 BT. The lock to the shed had been cut. Police have no known suspects.