Downtown’s latest weapon of choice: ketchup
By Danielle Wong, National Post
Betsy Chaly had about $600 stolen from her purse inside a busy bank in Toronto’s business district last month. The thief’s weapon of choice? Ketchup.
That day, Ms. Chaly exchanged several hundred Euros for a trip to Italy during a lunch break at a Scotiabank at King and Bay streets. She placed the money in an envelope and put it in her purse after stopping at the bank machine.
“A guy walked up to me and pointed at my pants. He said, ‘You have something there,’” Ms. Chaly said.
When she wiped the back of her pants, her hand was covered in ketchup.The man pointed further down, so she reached down to wipe off the ketchup on her pant leg, Ms. Chaly said. “That’s when it must’ve been done.”
The man handed her tissues, but disappeared without a word while she cleaned up at a counter, Ms. Chaly said. When she got home that night, the envelope was missing.
Ms. Chaly later learned she was victim of a resurrected trend in diversionary thefts, after police said they recently uncovered a nest of thieves.
Diversionary thieves tend to work in teams, spraying liquids such as mustard or ketchup on victims, and then pickpocketing them while they are distracted, Det. Sgt. Greg Cole said.
Three people were arrested in Ms. Chaly’s case, Det. Sgt. Cole said — one who spoke with her, another to plant the distraction and someone who stole the cash.
“I was totally [too] distracted to notice,” Ms. Chaly said. “I wish I had paid more attention. I was actually thanking him profusely.”
Earlier this year, another diversionary theft was reported in the area, with the thieves using feces as a distraction and accosting the victim in the bathroom, Det. Sgt. Cole said.
“It’s a bigger population of people in the downtown Toronto area. There are a lot more victims to choose from … a lot more [bank] machines that are closer together,” Det. Sgt. Cole said.
Pickpockets have used the tactic for more than a decade, Det. Barrie Wilkinson said.
“I know enough that when someone says there’s ketchup on me to move 10 feet away,” he said. “We called them ketchup thefts many years ago.”
Det. Wilkinson said he estimates there are “well in the hundreds” of ketchup thefts every year across Toronto.
It can happen in any crowded venue, and incidents may increase as the Christmas holidays approach, Det. Sgt. Cole said. “People have to be aware of their surroundings … If something doesn’t feel right, leave and go to another machine.”
Photo of Betsy Chaly by Tyler Anderson, National Post
