annlaura Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Someone stole my wallet out of my purse while at Toys R Us. I found out when a lady handed it back to me. With everything still in it. Can you believe it? My bank card and credit cards were taken out of their slots, but put back in a side pocket. I still immediately called and cancelled everything of course, but I couldn't have done it so quickly if I didn't have them in hand. Also, I don't keep cash in my wallet, so the nearly $80 I had with me was still in my change purse in my purse. You know, I'm a cop's wife. I know all the risks I shouldn't take. Yet I carried an open top purse and put it down in the cart. And I imagined I was pretty aware of my surroundings. But obviously not. So creepy. We are leaving on vacation at the end of the week, and I am so thankful I don't have to try to replace my driver's license. And my bank is overnighting a new bank card at no extra charge. I am really lucky. Be careful, everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Good reminder! I'm getting lazy these days about leaving my purse open. I'm glad it turned out okay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 What is the story behind you getting it back? I am glad you were not actually robbed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annlaura Posted May 18, 2011 Author Share Posted May 18, 2011 Thank you both! What is the story behind you getting it back? I am glad you were not actually robbed! I'm not sure. A woman was looking at my license in the wallet as she approached me, asking if it was mine, saying it was found in the back of the store. ?? I was a bit shocked, since I didn't even know it was missing. I said thank you and she was already walking away saying something about being careful. At that point, I rushed to check out, get into my car, and call the credit card companies and bank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hankins3 Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Gracious... glad that you got it back so quickly and that it turned out okay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahbobeara Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 :iagree: It could have turned out so much worse!:grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathmom Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Maybe they were just looking for cash and when there wasn't any, they just dropped it. Glad you got it back! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaillardia Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Thank you both! I'm not sure. A woman was looking at my license in the wallet as she approached me, asking if it was mine, saying it was found in the back of the store. ?? I was a bit shocked, since I didn't even know it was missing. I said thank you and she was already walking away saying something about being careful. At that point, I rushed to check out, get into my car, and call the credit card companies and bank. If it was found in the back of the store, then why wasn't an employee of the store handing you your wallet??? Maybe she was the one who took it? You didn't say if she was an employee. Just sayin'.:001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annlaura Posted May 18, 2011 Author Share Posted May 18, 2011 Maybe they were just looking for cash and when there wasn't any, they just dropped it. Glad you got it back! If it was found in the back of the store, then why wasn't an employee of the store handing you your wallet??? Maybe she was the one who took it? You didn't say if she was an employee. Just sayin'.:001_huh: DH said both of these as well. She wasn't in a store uniform, and she didn't identify herself as loss prevention. DH asked me why I didn't ask if she was an employee or how she found it. I didn't even think of it at the time. Guess that's why I'm not the cop. I agree whoever did it must have been looking for quick cash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Crazy!! Did you have kids that could have dropped it out?? That's really weird.. but... yup... glad you got it all back!! ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GypsieFamily Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 I had a similar thing recently. Someone broke into our caravan and stole our cameras. A month later, someone has just found them ... at the bottom of an opal mine. Even better, they still work!!! Despite an occassional bad egg, most people out there are honest.:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 DH said both of these as well. She wasn't in a store uniform, and she didn't identify herself as loss prevention. DH asked me why I didn't ask if she was an employee or how she found it. I didn't even think of it at the time. Guess that's why I'm not the cop. I agree whoever did it must have been looking for quick cash. Sounds like it may have been a kid who took it. The thief rifled through the wallet, pulling out the credit cards looking for hidden cash, then finding nothing stuck it on a store shelf. Good Samaritan lady notices a wallet and thinks, "That's weird," and looks for a driver's license. Worried that if she turns it in an employee may go through it or just stick it in a drawer, she wanders around a bit to see if she can find the lady in the picture. Shrug. Never would have occurred to me to blame the lady who returned it. Once I set my phone down on a shelf in a grocery store and left it there. The guy who found it called my dad to tell him I'd lost my phone. My dad lives 2000 miles away :confused: People do weird things. Barb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annlaura Posted May 18, 2011 Author Share Posted May 18, 2011 Crazy!! Did you have kids that could have dropped it out?? That's really weird.. but... yup... glad you got it all back!! ;) DS4 couldn't have reached it in the cart, and the toddler was wrapped. I had a similar thing recently. Someone broke into our caravan and stole our cameras. A month later, someone has just found them ... at the bottom of an opal mine. Even better, they still work!!! Despite an occassional bad egg, most people out there are honest.:001_smile: Wow! That's great about your cameras. I tend to think people are good. Sounds like it may have been a kid who took it. The thief rifled through the wallet, pulling out the credit cards looking for hidden cash, then finding nothing stuck it on a store shelf. Good Samaritan lady notices a wallet and thinks, "That's weird," and looks for a driver's license. Worried that if she turns it in an employee may go through it or just stick it in a drawer, she wanders around a bit to see if she can find the lady in the picture. Shrug. Never would have occurred to me to blame the lady who returned it. Once I set my phone down on a shelf in a grocery store and left it there. The guy who found it called my dad to tell him I'd lost my phone. My dad lives 2000 miles away :confused: People do weird things. I assumed the lady was just a good person too. DH's daily dealings with the unsavory side of society give him a different viewpoint. I'll be a little paranoid for a while, I suppose, but at least my reminder to be careful ended well. Barb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitten18 Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 I had my wallet stolen out of my purse at Bed Bath and Beyond a few years ago. I also had an open top purse and I had put it in the cart. I noticed it was gone, went home and filed a police report and called and canceled all my cards. Then a couple hours later, the post office called, they had found my wallet in a mail box. Everything was still in it except the cash (about $200). The worst part was that it was just a few days before Christmas and I had canceled all my credit cards.:glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 I've learned to carry my purse always--I never put it in the cart. Years ago a co-worker had gone grocery shopping and left her purse open in the cart while she wandered over into the next aisle. I guess she thought it was safe because it was in the commissary at a small military base in a small town. But while she was away from her purse, someone grabbed her checkbook and stole a check out of it then put the checkbook back. She didn't even realize it was missing until later when she got her cancelled checks back (told you it was years ago!) and the signature was wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trish Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Thank you both! I'm not sure. A woman was looking at my license in the wallet as she approached me, asking if it was mine, saying it was found in the back of the store. ?? I was a bit shocked, since I didn't even know it was missing. I said thank you and she was already walking away saying something about being careful. At that point, I rushed to check out, get into my car, and call the credit card companies and bank. A friend of mine had her wallet snatched while we were in fast food restaurant in New York's Times Square way back when. Another customer alerted us, so we could see the guy hurrying out of the store with it. My friend gave chase, so I chased both of them. (now, no way are we going to catch up to this late teen or early twenties guy who doesn't have shopping bags slowing him down as we did.) To our surprise, we caught up to him at the street corner. The wallet was on the ground. As my friend snatched it up and riffled through it, he said, "it was an honest mistake. I didn't know it was yours." Then the light changed and he went off across the street with the crowd. Nothing was missing from the wallet. We were very puzzled as to why nothing was taken from the wallet, and in fact, why he'd actually SPEAK to us at all! But, as I looked at her wallet further, I realized the most prominent item in it was my friend's sheriff's card. Now, for Western New Yorkers back in the day, a "sheriff's card" was nothing more than an official county I.D. that indicated you were of legal drinking age. However it is darned official looking, with all kinds of cool sheriff's insignia. I still have mine, haha! So I'm thinking the guy abandoned the wallet thinking we were (ahem) undercover cops. With shopping bags! Did your wallet have anything indicating a connection to law enforcement? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annlaura Posted May 18, 2011 Author Share Posted May 18, 2011 But, as I looked at her wallet further, I realized the most prominent item in it was my friend's sheriff's card. Now, for Western New Yorkers back in the day, a "sheriff's card" was nothing more than an official county I.D. that indicated you were of legal drinking age. However it is darned official looking, with all kinds of cool sheriff's insignia. I still have mine, haha! So I'm thinking the guy abandoned the wallet thinking we were (ahem) undercover cops. With shopping bags! Did your wallet have anything indicating a connection to law enforcement? That's a great story! I don't have anything, actually, but it's a great idea. I think I will put one of DH's business cards with the embossed star in my outer pocket with a window. Maybe my homeschool id scared them off... ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BatmansWife Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Years ago, when my first two were little, we were on our usual Walmart shopping trip. I did not (never had) an open top purse, but my purse was sitting down inside the cart (not on the child seat). We were never very far away from the cart and were shopping for clothes...looking at the racks. When it was almost time to check out, I discovered that my wallet was gone. It's a horrible feeling! I reported it to the service desk...but what are they gonna do? All they can do is take your name and number and a description and call you if the wallet is returned. Fat chance! An older couple was near the service desk and they told me that the same thing had happened to them a few days earlier. Can you believe the nerve of someone to reach into my purse when my two kids and myself were never more than a few feet away from the cart! It still boggles my mind because I never had a clue! The wallet (which was my most favorite wallet I ever had) and everything in it was never found. What a pain! To make matters worse....it was the week of our yearly homeschool conference and my husband had given me $100 in cash. I never have money in my wallet....but I had the $100 in there. :crying: The lesson I learned the hard way is ALWAYS have your purse shut (which I'm sure mine was) and ALWAYS have it on your shoulder, NEVER in the cart! I see women all the time with their purses in the cart! It's really risky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missiemick Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 I had my wallet (and phone) stolen from a church! They used my phone to text my husband and get my PIN -- then they took out $500 from an ATM and bought some gas. Luckily, I discovered it a few hours later and was able to get things canceled. I LOVED the picture on my driver's license and was totally bummed that I had to get a new one. Can't trust anybody, anywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IlluminatedAttic Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 I don't carry an open top purse but I do put my purse in the cart, with the toddler usually on my back I just can't carry the purse too and shop efficiently. Sometimes I use a belt pack but if I have a purse I use the cart's buckle for the child seat to strap it in. I wind it through the purse straps a couple of times and buckle it. Anyone trying to take my purse or get the wallet out would have quite the time of it. It does make answering my cell phone before it goes to voicemail pretty impossible, but my cash and cards are safer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 They used my phone to text my husband and get my PIN -- then they took out $500 from an ATM and bought some gas. Oh, wow. This deserves a bump. I would never have thought about this. Off to warn husband and kids never to respond to texts from me looking for identifying info. Thanks for posting. Barb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annlaura Posted May 19, 2011 Author Share Posted May 19, 2011 I don't carry an open top purse but I do put my purse in the cart, with the toddler usually on my back I just can't carry the purse too and shop efficiently. Sometimes I use a belt pack but if I have a purse I use the cart's buckle for the child seat to strap it in. I wind it through the purse straps a couple of times and buckle it. Anyone trying to take my purse or get the wallet out would have quite the time of it. It does make answering my cell phone before it goes to voicemail pretty impossible, but my cash and cards are safer. Good idea. I usually put my purse down in the cart because the toddler is wrapped. I'll try buckling it in the seat next time. Oh, wow. This deserves a bump. I would never have thought about this. Off to warn husband and kids never to respond to texts from me looking for identifying info. Thanks for posting. Barb :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 My entire purse was stolen from a Walmart parking lot while I loaded groceries into the car (and tried to talk on the cellphone!) I had my keys in my pocket, thankfully, and my cell at my ear. I only noticed the purse was not there when I pulled up to Taco Bell. Evidently groups of people roam the parking lots and stores looking for distracted moms like me who leave their purses in the toddler seat of the shopping cart. It was a darn cute purse, too. :glare: Fortunately for me, I had recently photocopied all my cards and ID both front and BACK. With that info, I had all the cards and bank accounts cancelled in less than a half an hour. That purse stays securely in my sight now and gets placed in the car first thing....AND I don't let the dear son call me while I'm shopping --unless it's an emergency. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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