After a series of armed robberies in Washington, DC, that targeted people wearing Canada Goose winter coats, police have issued a warning.
Between December and February, at least seven robberies of victims sporting the well-liked designer coats were reported.
The campus of George Washington University issued its own warning after some of the robberies occurred nearby.
The stolen coats have a price range of $550 (£454) to almost $1,500.
Police are advising the public to exercise caution.
When a couple claimed they were attacked while strolling with their young children in the northeastern part of Washington, DC, reports of the robberies first surfaced in December.
One of the victims claimed to the local NBC News affiliate that she thought the robbers were attempting to steal her Canada Goose jacket but were unsuccessful.
Over the following weeks, a number of other robberies involving the pricey coat took place.
On January 24, a group of masked assailants approached a Howard University student who was wearing a Canada Goose coat. Then, after stealing his coat, they left the area.
According to Howard University police, the attack happened "amongst a crowd of onlookers and witnesses" in a busy area. Since then, the suspects have been detained, and the student has received his jacket back.
Two armed robberies involving gunpoint demands for the victims to remove their Canada Goose coats happened close to the George Washington University campus a week later.
The following day, the campus published a formal advisory.
It read, "These jackets are very expensive, and members of our community should exercise caution while donning them, even in very public places.". Be aware of your surroundings at all times. ".
In response to the spate of robberies, police in Washington, DC, have also issued a statement, pleading with bystanders to cooperate and hand over their coats if they are being held at gunpoint.
"Your life is not worth property. We want people to call 911, so give away that property and try to get a good description of that person," Metropolitan Police Department Lt. said Patrick Loftus.
There have since been reports of another robbery, this one involving a tourist couple who were walking around Dupont Circle in the heart of Washington, DC, when robbers approached them at gunpoint on February 5 during the middle of the afternoon.
Sheila Kaufman, who was attacked, told NBC News, "All of a sudden someone's like, 'Gimme your coat! Gimme your coat!' and I thought, is this a joke?'" She added that she and her husband both took off their coats and gave them to the gunmen.
In other US cities, notably Chicago, where six incidents of winter coats being taken at gunpoint were reported in just over a week in 2019, thieves have targeted people wearing Canada Goose.
Similar incidents have also been reported in the UK, where a man was robbed of his fake Canada Goose jacket.
Parkas and coats made in Canada are notoriously expensive; some can cost up to $1,850 at retail.
Animal rights groups like PETA have previously criticized the company, claiming that it used unethical supply methods to obtain the wild coyote fur that lines the coats' hoods.
The business responded by stating that it would stop using fur in its products by 2021.
The popularity of the coats seems to be increasing despite their high price. Since 2015, Canada Goose's annual revenue has increased steadily, peaking in 2020 at C$1.1bn (US$820,000; £670,000).
