The Cleveland Police Department on Monday, May 4, 2015 received reports from three female citizens advising someone has stolen their wallets from their pursue while they were shopping, and their debit and credit cards had been used at the local Walmart without their consent.
One of the female victims remembered being approached by a suspicious light skinned black male around 30 to 32 years of age while shopping inside of the HEB here in Cleveland. The female victim said “the male was very polite, and stood physically close to her as he talked”. The male kept asking her questions like he had known her for some time. It’s possible there was someone accompanying the male that was going through her purse while the friendly male subject distracted her. It was not noticed until the female shopper got to the front checkout that her wallet was missing from inside of her pursue. The female shopper said her pursue was sitting on the upper part of her shopping cart.
The victims all discovered their credit cards had been used at Walmart within a few hours of being taken.
Tips:
1) Strap your purse across your shoulders, so you can see it at all times.
2) Keep your purse or wallet zipped or buttoned closed. Routinely check for your wallet if you have been inside the store for a long period of time.
3) Be aware of strangers asking questions, or wanting to talk, and you don’t know them. A lot of con-artist and thieves work in pairs.
4) Don’t leave your purse in the shopping cart while loading your car after shopping.
5) Be aware of your surroundings at all times, be watchful of people who you notice standing next to you for long periods of time on more than two shopping aisles.