York Regional Police have released a video of a man picking up a package off of a front porch in Markham as investigators continue to try and identify a fraud suspect.
On Monday, police said they were looking for the man following incidents at two homes in the city last month, both involving a man swiping delivered packages off a porch.聽
The Star previously reported that on March 31, Steve 鈥 whose last name has been omitted out of concerns over identity theft 鈥 was working from home when a UPS delivery person dropped off a package for his wife, May. When she opened the box later that day, the couple began to realize something was off.聽
One expert said the merging of digital and physical fraud is uncommon.
One expert said the merging of digital and physical fraud is uncommon.
鈥淚t was a brand new windbreaker, that we hadn鈥檛 ordered, with a $600 price tag and no packing slip,鈥 he said.
The charge for the windbreaker appeared on their credit card along with an identical charge for a second jacket.
Then, Steve and May began to review video footage captured on their Ring doorbell when they saw the man swiping a package from their front step. Rewinding the video even further, Steve said the man had been parked outside the house, for hours, presumably waiting for the delivery.聽
The video shows a man dressed in dark clothing get out of the driver’s seat of a car to run up the front steps of the home in the area at聽Riverwalk Drive and Oakborough Drive, grab a package at the victim’s door and then drive off, police said. Investigators said the suspect vehicle looks like a white Mercedes-Benz and noted that it was driving in tandem with a聽dark grey Range Rover, according a police聽.
Earlier in the month, on March 6, another resident in the area of Riverwalk Drive and Oakborough Drive called police after a man rang their doorbell and told the victim聽that his sister鈥檚 package was delivered there accidentally. When the resident told the suspect they were going to call the police, the suspect fled.
The packages were addressed to the victim but with slightly different personal information. Like Steve and May, they also found聽transactions for high-end clothing items they didn’t order in their credit card statements.聽
The next day, the victim called police again to report a similar incident with the same suspect. When the victim confronted the suspect, he fled in a聽black sport utility vehicle.
Officers are looking to identify the suspect and have of him and the suspect vehicles online.
With files from Abby O’Brien
To join the conversation set a first and last name in your user profile.
Sign in or register for free to join the Conversation