COQUITLAM, B.C. — RCMP in Coquitlam, B.C., hope a Valentine's Day warning will help them find a man who has been preying on unsuspecting women searching for love.
Cpl. Michael McLaughlin says a Coquitlam woman was involved in a week-long romance with a man who answered the victim's online ad on Jan. 1.
The man, described as about 45 years old, with dark brown hair, a trim beard and blue eyes, stayed at the victim's home but police say the woman never saw his car or went to his residence.
McLaughlin says the suspect left the woman's home on Jan. 7, and disappeared, along with her house keys, bank cards, and money withdrawn from her account.
Coquitlam RCMP have now linked the man to three similar cases in Metro Vancouver.
They want to speak to anyone who may be able to identify the man, who uses aliases including Richard Harvey Silver, Jack Harvey, Dan Whelan and James Whelan.
"Investigators believe there is a strong possibility that other women have been, or will be, the subject of this scam" McLaughlin says in a news release.
He says good, trusting people are most vulnerable to romance fraudsters and urges everyone to be cautious around people who want to get too close, too quickly, and never pay their share of the bills.
