Police in San Francisco are warning residents about a series of jewelry theft schemes targeting senior citizens after officers arrested two suspects linked to a robbery earlier this year.

In an alert, the San Francisco Police Department said perpetrators often approach victims wearing visible jewelry, engage them in conversation, and offer what appears to be a gift before removing the victim’s valuables during the interaction.

“The perpetrators often operate as part of a larger criminal enterprise targeting victims wearing visible jewelry, while using deceptive tactics to steal a victim’s valuables,” the department said.

Many victims in these cases are senior citizens, and police urged people to remain cautious if approached by strangers offering gifts or attempting physical contact.

“If a stranger approaches you and attempts to make physical contact or offer a gift, step away and alert them that you are calling the police,” the department said.

On March 20, police arrested two suspects after plainclothes officers conducting a robbery abatement operation observed a white BMW SUV approaching multiple people wearing jewelry and attempting to start conversations with them.

Officers later watched the vehicle approach a victim near the corner of 17th Avenue and Cabrillo Street, where a suspect appeared to place a necklace on the victim before forcibly stealing the victim’s jewelry. The vehicle then fled, police alleged.

In a partial framegrab from video, a woman on the street is approached by people in a white vehicle who manage to steal the woman’s necklace before driving away. The suspects were later arrested. San Francisco police are warning the public about such jewelry scams that often target seniors. (SFPD/Facebook)

With help from drone first responders, officers continued surveillance of the vehicle and later disabled it before taking two occupants into custody near the 400 block of Frederick Street, police said.

Officers recovered additional jewelry, U.S. and foreign currency and a decoy necklace believed to have been used in the robbery, police alleged.

They arrested 37-year-old Ludovic-Iustinian Ceausu and 41-year-old Claudia Voinescu and booked them into San Francisco County Jail on suspicion of robbery, conspiracy, possession of stolen property, grand theft, elder abuse, possession of counterfeit items with the intent to defraud and possession of burglary tools. Voinescu was also charged with an outstanding out-of-county warrant for larceny.

Although arrests have been made, San Francisco police said the investigation remains ongoing and urged anyone who may have been targeted or who has information about similar cases to contact investigators at (415) 575-4444 or text a tip to TIP411.

Police across the Bay Area have reported similar distraction-style jewelry thefts in recent months. In Livermore, officers arrested two suspects in January after a 65-year-old woman reported that a stranger approached her outside a business, asked to pray together and slipped replica jewelry onto her wrist before her real gold bracelet was taken. Police later located the suspect vehicle nearby and arrested two people in connection with the theft.