Thieves in Richmond, B.C., made off with tens of thousands of dollars worth of Hermès handbags after talking their way into a woman's home by posing as insurance investigators.

RCMP say the woman was tied up by four men who made off with seven Hermès purses and handbags worth at least $5,000 to $15,000 each, plus several other high-end brands.

One of the bags appears to have been a coveted Birkin bag, which can be worth from $9,000 to $100,000 each, depending on the materials they are made from.

Cpl. Sherrdean Turley said she was surprised to learn the value of the handbags.

"I have to admit I'm not a huge purse person, so I was quite shocked at the value of these purses," she said.

The incident began around 1:30 p.m. PT on June 26 when two men — one Asian and one South Asian — knocked on the door of the woman's home on the 7000 block of Petts Road and told her they wanted to talk to her about an insurance claim involving the vehicle in her driveway.

"After talking for several minutes, the males were invited into the female’s home to continue their conversation. It was at this point that the two males overpowered the female, bound her and assaulted her," said Turley.

Two more men — one Asian and one of unknown ethnicity — then entered the residence to help the first two suspects loot the victim's house for her handbags and purses.

Turley says the suspects are between 20 and 25 years old, and were seen in a silver or charcoal-coloured SUV.