It’s easy to get distracted on a shopping trip. But after hearing about the following scam – you’ll hopefully stay more alert and take precautions.
One report shows just how easy it is to have your purse or wallet stolen while shopping.
So many of us get in the zone while we’re grocery shopping, leaving our purses and/or wallets unattended.
Inside Edition’s camera shows us just how easy it is to snatch a purse or wallet from a shopping cart without the owner suspecting a thing.
Purse thieves will typically look for a victim with specific traits to steal from.
They’ll look for someone whose wallet is sticking out of their purse in their shopping cart or a purse dangling behind or over the cart.
All it takes is turning around and leaving our purse or wallet unattended for just a second for someone to steal it.
Corporate Travel Safety says that purse thieves also have different techniques.
Some thieves use the snatch-and-run method.
In a place like a store or a supermarket, the snatch would have to be very subtle.
And the running would be more like casually walking away unnoticed.
The dip and lift is a pickpocketing method where the thief “dips down” and lifts a wallet or phone from an open purse.
Sometimes they’ll get someone to distract the purse owner while another one of them lifts the item from the purse.
The CCTV footage collected by Inside Edition in their video shows shoppers unknowingly being robbed using a number of these tactics.
But there are things you could to do protect yourself from thieves.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office advised:
“When using a shopping cart as you browse through the store, always keep your purse zipped or closed, and secure it to the cart by clipping the child safety belt through the strap(s). This will help in preventing someone from taking advantage of your distraction and running off with the purse.”
If your cart doesn’t have a child strap, you can also use an inexpensive carabiner clip to attach your purse straps to your cart.
“Simply clip the carabiner to the cart and your purse is more secure.”
The sheriff’s office said that going without a purse is the best option. But that’s usually not possible for moms or the pocketless.
“We know that’s not possible for everyone — especially you moms out there who have every possible remedy for every possible emergency from Anthrax to Zika stored away in those handbags, not to mention enough supplies and snacks for a family of five who might suddenly find themselves stranded on a remote island. Plus band-aids. And gum,” the police department wrote.
Security consultant Bill Stanton told Inside Edition that you should always wear your purse or clutch.
Placing your bag in the shopping cart just offers thieves an easier opportunity to steal it.
Inside Edition’s video was viewed more than 5.1 million times. Especially with such a busy shopping season right around the corner – it’s the perfect time to watch it.
People could just not get over how easily some had their purses stolen.
See how easy it is for yourself in the video below!
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