A Vancouver Police project into break-and-enters and mail and property theft has led to a web of criminal activity, resulting in several arrests and the discovery of a new scam.

Project Lancer, a joint investigation between the Auto Crime Enforcement (ACE) Unit, the Identity Theft Unit and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), began in January and spanned several weeks.

Officers first spotted two men meeting at a local casino parking lot, one in a stolen truck and the other in a rental car. The duo appeared to be exchanging numerous credit cards.

Investigation into the rental car revealed that it had been rented with a fraudulent credit card related to the theft of someone’s identity, made possible when the victim lost his wallet.

The suspect’s identity was confirmed by an officer who recognized him from previous investigations. The man had an extensive history for fraud and identity theft. Further investigation revealed the suspect’s partners-in-crime, and a $51,000 Mitsubishi Lancer EVO, purchased using the victim’s stolen identity.

A search of the suspect’s Surrey apartment revealed the following:

  • ID and credit cards in victim’s name
  • approximately 200 credit cards and ID in other names
  • stolen mail
  • a credit card reader/writer and credit card data
  • memory sticks with driver’s licence, SIN and birth certificate templates for identity theft
  • finance credit applications with another 100 different personal identifications, some used for identity fraud
  • $20,000 in e-gift and hardcopy gift cards

The investigation also led to the recovery of three stolen vehicles: a 2010 BMW 323i, a 2011 Ford Escape and a 2007 Honda motorcycle. In a 2011 Jeep Cherokee, which had been fraudulently rented, officers found a credit card manufacturing machine, fraudulent Best Buy and Future Shop e-gift cards, and stolen mail containing credit cards.

The major discovery during the investigation was uncovering the method that was being used by the suspects to obtain most of their stolen property. It involved using information obtained from a victim’s RBC Visa account, likely through mail theft, to redeem points for gift cards. The scam usually goes unnoticed for a significant period of time until the victim attempts to use their points to make a purchase. VPD investigators are working with RBC Security to combat this scam.

The following charges have now been approved:

DANIEL ADAM SUCHECKI, aged 34
Surrey

  • possession of property obtained by crime over $5000 x 5
  • identity theft x 19
  • possession of an identity document x 14
  • personation with intent to cause disadvantage x 4
  • driving while disqualified x 14
  • breach of probation x 36
  • fraud x 3
  • personation with intent to avoid arrest, prosecution or obstruct justice x 2
  • personation with intent to gain advantage x 6
  • possession of credit card x 7
  • possession of stolen mail x 2
  • forgery x 6
  • fraudulent registration of title x 3
  • personation with intent to obtain property x 10
  • theft motor vehicle x 3
  • unauthorized use of credit card data x 4
  • attempt to defraud x 2
  • use a forged document x 5
  • forgery of a credit card x 11
  • possession of identity information for the purpose of trafficking x 3

HUCAL, CHRISTA DAWN, aged 25
Surrey

  • trafficking in property obtained by crime over $5000
  • possession of credit card x 3
  • unauthorized use of credit card data x 3
  • use a forged document x 4
  • fraud x 5
  • possession of stolen mail x 6
  • identity theft x 7
  • personation with intent to obtain property x 8
  • breach of conditional sentence order x 9
  • breach probation x 10
  • possession of property obtained by crime under $5000 x 2

Learn how to prevent identity theft.