Warning issued to Bluffs and Beach residents

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Once again Variety, The Children's Charity, is warning unsuspecting residents to not give money to door-to-door canvassers.

The charitable organization, which runs the world-renowned Variety Village fitness and life skills facility, does not collect donations in that manner.

"We run an occasional telemarketing campaign but never door to door," said Lynda Elmy, the charity's communications director.

"It's starting to escalate again so we're just hoping to warn people."

The organization issued a press release Monday, March 10 warning people, specifically in the Scarborough Bluffs and the eastern Beach area, about the problem, asking anyone approached by a phony Variety canvasser to call police.

About 15 complaints have come in over the last six months. However, the fake soliciting has been a recurring problem for the charity over the last few years, Elmy said.

"It's been going on for a while. It appears to be the same individual with a similar general description," she said.

"A suspect has never been caught."

Const. Jill Davey of 41 Division's crime prevention unit said that a warning about Variety Village's charity scam was issued through the division's auto-dialer system late last summer.

"Listen to that little, tiny instinct inside," Davey said, advising people to always request proper identification from door-to-door canvassers and not give if they feel uneasy in any way.

The suspect is described as a woman, 45 to 55 years old, five-feet two-inches to five-feet three-inches with long dark hair. She was reportedly wearing a dark blue parka and was holding a clipboard and flashed fake identification bearing the Variety logo.

Anyone with information should call 416-808-4100 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477).