Watch Your Purse!! (long)

[WickedGTR]

A holiday reminder for women/wives/girlfriends to watch your purse this holiday season.

My wife (who is careful) set her purse down for about 10 seconds as she was getting groceries out of the cart to put them on the checkout stand at a 'nice' grocery store in a 'nice' neighborhood. People all around waiting in line, and she looked up and the purse was gone. The checker was notified and they announced over the PA and employees quickly searched the store but it was already too late.

Someone targeted her and swooped in and it was gone.

Women tend to carry ALL of their important belongings in one bag. She lost her ATM/Credit card, Driver's liscense (w/ our home address), house and car keys, cell phone, chebook, blank checks for purchases from her employer, etc etc, and about $6 cash.

Even though we cancelled the ATM/debit card on Sunday (minutes after the incident), we had to leave some money in the account as we had checks that hadn't cleared. Nonetheless, the creep manged to charge several purchases monday morning and now our money will be tied up from that account as we have to wait three days to file fraud paperwork, and it'll be a few weeks until they can release the money back to our new account.

I had to change all of the locks on the house. We will have to take our fairly new Dodge pickup to the dealer to have it re-keyed ($$$). We had to file a fraud alert with the credit reporting agency. We have to file an insurance claim on the cell phone. She had to get a new drivers liscense (long lines), deal with closing the bank account, etc, then change all of the other accounts that are linked to that account. We will also have to subscribe to a longer term fraud report service in case the creep wants to try to steal her identity. It's an open-ended nightmare.

Needless to say it has put a damper on our Christmas. spirit this year. Instead, I'm starting to feel like Charles Bronson in one of those vigilante movies.

My advice is to be careful and think about not keeping all of your valuable belongings in one, easy to lose, package.

Merry Christmas!

[jhundt]

good thing he only took stuff and wasn't some kind of creep waiting out in the parking lot for victims. That's looking on the bright side, though it doesn't help or make it any easier for you guys.

[CancerLeoCam]

.. sent you an e-mail.

One morning when I was in college I went surfing @ Trestles and had a silver Toyota pickup w/ a camper shell. I stripped in the shell into my wetsuit and locked everything up. I came back after the surf session and found someone had broke in (skinny window was open in the shell) and ripped off all my clothes-even my letterman's jacket from HS.

I was so pissed. I saw the creep tried to pry open the driver's cab sliding rear window that connected the shell. Luckily I had it locked. I only wished I would have found the guy and locked up the windows in the shell. I would have drove down the street to San Clemente PD and dropped him off to a more comfortable cell. Or, I could dropped him off in the middle of the Cleveland National Forest. A bear and/or cougar would have made a tasty snack out of him.

[jjw43]

But in the top parking lot at Rincon. Jacked my truck and stole my pants. There I was on a cold winter evening in a wetsuit with no wallet, pants or license. By the time I got home (no cell) the jerk had purchased $1,500 at the Ventura Mall. It took months to clear up. Back on the subject of being careful a friend at work was robbed down on the Promenade in Front of the Ventura Holiday Inn on Saturday evening. He made the mistake of arguing and several guys bounced his head off the sidewalk. He's ok but pretty shook up. Be careful out there, tis the season?!?

[CancerLeoCam]

..I had to drive home to Wildomar (Lake Elsinore) over the Ortega in my wetsuit-very hot!

There are guys around our workplace who have been ripped off to the tune of hundreds of dollars in cash and jewelry. We even had a sectretary here have an iPod swiped from under her desk-don't know why she brought it to work in the package? I don't carry any cash at all primarily because it's easily burned and I seem to misplace my wallet more when there's money in it. I need to get a t-shirt that says "this dude carrys no cash."

[Lost_N_Austin]

I was searching for an urban legend to support a story that supposedly happened in Tulsa a few years back. The short part is after the purse was stolen the owner got a call at home saying that they had found her belongings, decribed them in detail and asked her to come down to the Mall and see the Supervisor of Security and Mr. Smith/Jones, whatever. By the time the victim arrived and found there was no such person, it was too late and the round trip to the Mall cost the victims their furniture and household belongings.

Whether this was true or not - here is a good link to an article about purse theft and advise on wearing a purse.
It's too bad we need this kind of information but it may save a life. http://www.snopes.com/horrors/robbery/purse.htm

[OutlawSteph]

That stinks :evil: but it's a good reminder. I like the bohemian style messenger bag shaped purses. You've got both hands free and never have to put them down.. they're almost impossible to snatch.

[PraiseCaster]

One time my wife went to the restroom at a department store. She sat her purse down (so she could handle the paperwork), and when she went to pick it up, it was gone. Over $800.00 in cash in the purse, credit card, and DL. Luckily she had her keys in her pocket, or I'm pretty sure her car woulda been gone too.

jhundt was right though; that was all that happened.

[bebopalula]

...for you and your family,wicked.

hopefully santa will bring ya the pink guitar
and leave alla them red ones in the sleigh.

[jaybee001]

during a school event, my jacket was stolen, unfortunately my keys were in it... result:

brand new car stolen (I'd had it for 3 weeks, just about 900 km)
my girlfriends dad comes and picks us up, they go to my place, I go to the PD to report the theft, not 30 minutes later, someone is trying to get in the building. My father in law, looking out of the window asks him what's up, and the guy starts a story about him coming "to look at the apartment for rent", then walks off - my father in law tried to follow him with his car, but lost him
locksmith at 10pm - new locks for both the street door (+ extra keys for two other apartments) and my apartment $$$
insurance company making problems after car has been found back, claiming it was not a total loss and I'm not eligible for a new car - the old one was "customized" pretty badly and no one could tell me what had happened to the engine since it wouldn't run anymore - TWO months without car before the insurance company gives in, and I get a new car - 3 more weeks before I get the new car, paying extra $$$
registering new car - $$$
canceling tax plate, getting tax plate registered again - $$$ (in Belgium the tax plate stays with the owner, not with the car)

knowing you can't trust the students in your school anymore... after 5 years of struggling to try and forget it, I finally "gave up", became depressed and am now (another year later) facing early retirement for medical reasons

[Nick Fanis]

When I first came to the US to study 20 years ago ,my TOUGH 75 year old auntie (who lived in the US since she was 15) took me for a walk in Manhattan.
When we reached the Path train station (she lived in New Jersey) I reached for my wallet to pay for the tickets .
When she saw that I was carrying a wallet she snatched it from my hands took my money out of the purse folded them in a small wad and placed it in my FRONT jeans pocket,than she threw my wallet in the nearest garbage can!

"Nicky she told me this isn't Athens you are living in now, this is New York,no real New Yorker carries a wallet!!!" she told me

I have followed her advice until today & I have never had anything stolen from me...

On the other hand a few years ago my former girlfriend took the car for service and she forgot her keys of our house in the glove comp.

Three days later after a night out we have returned to a practically empty home..... a month later we got a call from the police that they have cought a former employee of the service station with our belongings

[Wild Rice Chris]

I've never been ripped off, but have been known to be slightly paranoid in the past. I have gotten over the extreme bits, but always carry my wallet in my front pocket. Much more difficult to grab it there.

[maestrovert]

oh, the horror stories !

ahhh.....personal security

yup, it only takes a second.....
" but it was only a moment, and i was standing right there" ! (where have i heard that before ?)

i do carry a wallet, but there's only a couple of things in it, DL, CCW, vehicle insurance card, & some business cards.....nothing of any redeemable/monetary value. When travelling or shopping, i've found a money belt to be a worthwhile item..... i carry only enough cash to cover my anticipated needs in my front pocket, more cash and a credit card remain in the $ belt.
my car keys are on a separate ring from my other keys....
now, if women would/could only get away from the bad habit of carrying everything in those suitcases popularly known as "purses"......

y'all have my sympathies, truly....

[Geyser]

Hey all,
your stories all hit home with me. I've had my car stolen not once, but twice, in the past two years. It was the same car (2000 Honda Civic) stolen from the same type of place (bus service "park and ride"-- I drive to the parking lot and take the bus to work). Both thefts occurred on weekday afternoons in broad daylight. Both times the car was recovered within a day but the cost and inconveniences associated with it were immeasurable. The first theft they got a car load of music gear (I had a gig after work that night-- 99 American Fat Tele, Crate Vintage Club 30 amp, bag full of pedals, cords, tuners, and accessories). The second time they got nothing (I learned my lesson about keeping anything in the car). The cops were unsympathetic and the insurance company acted like I was bothering them (though they did cut checks promptly). My wife and I also put "fraud-alerts" on all our cards and accounts due to having some paperwork and receipts in the car at the time of theft. Luckily, nothing has ever come of it, but anytime we try to open a new credit card or something, we have to be put through the ringer. I guess that's a good thing. Whoever said they feel like Charles Bronson hit the nail on the head. Just reading about your experiences got my blood boiling again. Grrr!!!!!!!

[WickedGTR]

Just heard a teaser for a news program this morning, warning that it's Identity Theft Season. You are more likely to be a victim from having a purse or wallet stolen, rather than online shopping.

As the stores get crowded, and people are busy and distracted, thieves have seized on the season as the time of year when people are most vulnerable, and carrying lots of cash and/or credit cards. It's a creeps' busy time of year, also.

It's not crazy to be a little paranoid. See if there's anything you can do to make yourself a less perfect victim. Don't keep 'all of your eggs in one basket'. Be careful about what personal information you put in your trash and leave out on the street for the taking. Many of you may be surprised to see your social security numbers printed on your paycheck stubs. (I'm going to invest in a shredder this week.)

As the economy is becoming more electronic, identity theft has become a growth industry. I know at least 10% of the people where I work have been victims. None of them have happy stories about their ordeal.

If you suspect you may have become a victim of ID theft, it's important to take the proper steps. One of the most important things to do is file a fraud alert with one of the credit reporting agencies. More information here-

I posted this thread as a cautionary tale, please, be careful, be safe, and keep pickin'.