From Whistler to Facebook Marketplace: RCMP crack alleged resort rental theft scam

In late 2024, a series of supposed skiers booked equipment from Whistler rental stores.

The skis and poles were never returned. The renters' names were allegedly aliases. And the credit cards used to secure the bookings turned out to be fraudulent.

According to court documents obtained by CBC News, the stolen equipment later surfaced on a Facebook Marketplace account linked to a Burnaby man, who police claim hired couriers through social media to travel to Whistler and pick up the rentals that he then sold online. 

'The exact same information'

Burnaby RCMP declined to comment on the case, which is still under investigation.

CBC is not naming the suspect, because no criminal charges have been filed against him. His name is contained in a warrant to search a storage locker in a condo building near Metrotown, where police claim he met undercover officers to swap stolen skis and boots for cash.

In a document sworn to obtain the search warrant — filed in Vancouver provincial court — RCMP say they believe the suspect is responsible for the theft of thousands of dollars worth of cutting edge ski gear. 

The documents detail an investigation that was sparked when staff at Whistler Blackcomb Rentals made complaints in December about someone failing to return equipment. 

A loss prevention manager alerted police to the fact that the serial numbers on some of the stolen items could be seen in ads for ski equipment linked to one Facebook Marketplace profile. On others, the serial numbers could not be seen as the items were placed against a wall.

The rentals allegedly followed a familiar pattern. 

"All the suspected fraudulent rental forms would have the exact same information for the following: i. Age; ii. Height; iii. Weight; iv. Skier type; v. Shoe size; and vi. Suggested length," the warrant says.

'Pick out the best skis'

Using those specifications, Whistler RCMP were able to flag a number of suspicious rentals over the course of three days, and intercept three people who claimed they had been hired to act as couriers.

One of the men told police he "answered an ad on social media that offered a fee and gas money to go to Whistler and pick up skis and bring them back to Burnaby."

"[He] has not met the poster of the ad and only spoke over an application called 'Wechat,'" the warrant reads.

Another suspect claimed "he took a job from a Chinese social media site that required him to pick up five sets of skis from five different locations in Whistler."

The man said he was told "to convince the ski staff that he is the name on the rental agreement and to pick out the best skis."

The search warrant claims the names the couriers provided for the man who hired them were aliases — as was the name on the Facebook account where the goods were later on offer. But one of the men allegedly showed RCMP an e-transfer from the suspect.

An undercover sting

A week after arresting and releasing the couriers, an undercover RCMP officer messaged the suspect Facebook account to purchase Stormrider skis and Salomon boots that police had been able to link to the Whistler thefts through serial numbers.

A man who introduced himself as "Adam" — another alias according the warrant — met the officer in the lobby of an apartment building, where he exchanged the skis for $1,100, paid for in $100, $50 and $20 dollar bills.

The warrant claims the same suspect was also the subject of a Richmond RCMP investigation last April into an attempted fraud at YVR World Duty Free, where someone tried to pick up an online order for a "liquor bottle worth $50,000."

In an echo of the Whistler allegations, the Burnaby man claimed he "was told he would be paid $500 for picking up and dropping off the bottle" to the poster of an online job.

"I believe [the suspect] was made aware of this fraud scheme in April and has since removed himself from being the person directly picking up the products to now using [an alias] to instruct others," the officer who applied for the Whistler warrant wrote.

According to the search warrant, police believed they would find the skis and boots in the suspect's storage locker and were hoping to find fraudulent credit cards used to make the bookings at his home, as well as the cash paid in the undercover sting.

The owner of the Facebook Marketplace account allegedly used to hawk the stolen gear responded to an email from CBC News with a message saying: "That's my privacy. I don't hope it to be report[ed]. Stop your story working immediately."

In a statement, a spokesperson for Whistler Blackcomb said the resort would not comment on the case "due to legal sensitivities."

"Ensuring a safe and positive experience for our guests at Whistler Blackcomb is always a top priority," the statement said, noting anti-theft measures including "200 cameras at the resort used for public safety and activity tracking around plazas, lifts and on mountain."

None of the allegations have been proven in court. RCMP say the investigation is still ongoing.