The Oak Bay Police Department responded to 67 calls for service this past week.
2023-1909 Fraud.
On July 5th, the Oak Bay Police Department responded to a report of a fraud. An Oak Bay resident reported, while on their computer, they clicked on a link titled “millionaire that died”. When the link opened, a second link appeared, claiming to be from Microsoft, stating the user’s computer had been hacked and their information had been compromised. The webpage provided a phone number to call. The resident called the number and spoke with someone they believed was from the CIBC fraud department. The fraudster convinced them to attend their bank and withdraw money $12,800.00 cash and deposit it into three separate Bitcoin ATMs. The Bitcoin was then transferred out of the account the resident had created. The resident, suspecting the story they had been given by the fraudster was false, followed up with their bank and learned they had been defrauded and the police were contacted. This fraudster, like most fraudsters, was prepared with high pressure tactics and had a very rehearsed and believable script. If you believe you are being engaged over the phone in fraudulent activity, please stop, take a breath, hang up and contact your financial agency or the police. Reputable and legitimate financial institutions will not ask you to make multiple cash withdrawals and then make deposits into multiple Bitcoin ATMs. This investigation is on going.
2023-1922 Break and Enter.
On July 7th, the Oak Bay Police Department responded to a report of a break and enter in the 2000 block of Crescent Rd. The resident reported that sometime overnight, someone had entered their insecure garage and stole approximately $1700.00 in clothing, trading cards and other items that had been placed in moving boxes and garbage bags. On July 7th, VicPD recovered much of the stolen property, and it was returned to the resident. This matter is still under investigation.
2023-1925 Theft of bicycle over $5000.00
On July 7th, the Oak Bay Police Department responded to a report of a theft of an Urban Arrow electric cargo bicycle from south Oak Bay. The resident reported they had hidden a tracking device on the bicycle and was able to track it to a location in Victoria. Victoria police responded to the location of the tracking device after a resident had reported a suspicious man had been on their property. The man was confronted by the homeowner and ran off leaving behind the stolen bicycle, sports equipment, tools, and musical instruments. The property was recovered and returned to owners. This investigation is ongoing.
2023-1926 Break and Enter.
On July 7th, at 6:30pm , the Oak Bay Police Department responded to a report of a break and enter in the 2100 block of Lorne Terrace. The resident reported someone had entered their residence through the unlocked front door between 1:30- 2:30pm and stolen two laptops, a bank card and approximately $50.00 in cash. The resident reported they checked their online bank account and saw two unauthorized purchases (under $50.00) had been made using the stolen bank card. This investigation is ongoing.
2023-1938 Theft of bicycle over $5000
On July 9th, the Oak Bay Police Department responded to a report of a bicycle theft from the 2100 block of Oak Bay Avenue. The owner reported they had locked their bicycle at to the bike rack at 10:00am and did several errands. Upon their return at 11:30am, they found the lock had been cut and the bicycle was gone. The stolen bicycle is described as a black Devide Spartan Mountain bike with gold colouring. The estimated value of the bicycle is reported to be over $5, 000.00.
If you have information regarding these or any other crimes in Oak Bay, please phone the police department at 250-592-2424 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS)
