Police are warning Cowichan Valley residents about a spike in so-called “fake gold” scams, where suspects attempt to sell fraudulent jewelry in parking lots.
North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP say they received several calls for service between February 5th and 9th related to the scam, with most incidents occurring during the morning hours near Cowichan Commons.
The warning follows a recent increase in reports of individuals approaching members of the public in commercial parking lots and offering what they claim is gold jewelry at a steep discount.
On February 5th, security at a financial institution on Trunk Road contacted police after observing a man withdrawing a large amount of cash while holding jewelry believed to be fraudulent.
The man was described as having long brown hair, and a grey SUV was associated with the incident.
Two days later, on February 7th, police received a report of a vehicle attempting to sell gold or jewelry in a commercial parking lot. Officers were unable to locate the vehicle.
On February 9th, another complainant reported an attempted sale of a fake gold ring near a Dollarama location. In that case, the suspects were linked to a black SUV.
In a delayed report from January 22nd, police were told that a person had been approached in a Save-On-Foods parking lot by a man asking for money for fuel.
The victim handed over cash after being offered jewelry, which was later determined to be fake.
“These incidents typically involve suspects approaching members of the public in parking lots, claiming to need urgent assistance or offering jewelry at a significantly discounted price. In each case, the jewelry later proves to be of little or no value,” RCMP said in a news release.
The activity in Duncan comes a week after West Shore RCMP reported at least nine similar incidents in Langford since the start of 2026.
In those cases, suspects allegedly approached people outside busy retail stores, claiming they needed money for gas or food and offering what they described as gold jewelry at a discount.
Once money changed hands, the suspects quickly left, and the jewelry was later found to be fake.
A similar incident occured at Nanaimo’s Bowen Road gas station, where a man was offered a ring purportedly worth $3,000 in exchange for $100 in cash.
The ring was later determined to be worthless.
Nanaimo RCMP believe the suspects may be part of a larger criminal network travelling throughout Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland.
In Duncan, RCMP are advising residents not to purchase jewelry from parking lot sellers or hand over cash to strangers in exchange for jewelry or promises of repayment.
“Frauds of this nature can be very convincing and suspects often rely on creating a sense of urgency,” said North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP spokesperson Const. Tessa McDonald.
“We want to ensure the public is aware of this activity so they can make informed decisions and report suspicious behaviour to police.”
Anyone with information about the recent incidents, including dashcam footage of possible suspects, is asked to contact North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP at (250) 748-5522.
💬 Join the conversation
No comments yet — be the first to start the conversation
