Monday, September 21, 2009

Mommies Beware

This is a warning for all of my mommy friends out there. I was in Gymboree on Saturday in the Springfield Mall when my wallet was stolen. It was in the diaper bag in the basket under my stroller. I put my wallet away after paying for a purchase, turned around to talk to the sales clerk and check on Matthew and when I turned back it was gone. I was an especially easy target because I was clearly distracted by my kids since Matthew was screaming and all. There were no teenagers or males (besides my 3 kids) in the store. That means it was an adult woman who took it. She didn't loose time using it either. Within 10 minutes I had a phone call from Capital One about possible fraudulent charges on my card. Between my debit card and one credit card she racked up almost $2000 worth of merchandise.
Please, be careful and keep your wallet hidden really well or in your hand. This only took a second and even though I am not liable for the charges made, it is a huge hassle replacing my credit and bank cards, my insurance cards, my temple recommend, my BJs card and all of the other stuff I carried around with me on a daily basis.
FYI while I was reporting this to the police I was told that Panara Bread is another place where a lot of robbery takes place. Women often sling their purses on the back of their chairs and the thief is able to casually reach in and take credit cards and replace the wallet so you don't even realize you are missing anything until the next time you go to the store.

7 comments:

Jenny Whiting said...

Wow, I can't believe that happened to you. I do that ALL the time--leave my planner in the basket of my stroller (at the park, at the store). I really do need to be more careful too. And I can't believe she used it so fast...10 minutes! Well, good luck with getting everything replaced. I'm sorry that happened!

Brad, Adrienne, McKenna, Bryn, and Lauren said...

That is awful!! Just one more thing for you to have to do on your already full days! Three kids is kind of tricky isn't it?

Danielle said...

What a bummer! I am so paranoid that when I go to the grocery store I zip up my purse and buckle it in like' it's one of my children, that way if I have to turn to reach for something a theif would actually have to unbuckle the darn thing. So sorry for you, what a hassle!!

Jamie said...

I'm so sorry this happened to you! I once had my first paycheck that I just cashed stolen in a victoria secret store. I was with my mom and I had the envelope in my hand and must have dropped it or something. That was horrible and that is nothing like getting your whole wallet stolen. Glad that you are getting everything straightened out.

Steph said...

I'm so sorry! That is ridiculous. It's hard to believe that people stoop so low as to wait until someone is distracted by children to steal. I'm really sorry. I guess I will need to be more careful about putting my wallet underneath the stroller. Lesson learned.

Amy said...

I'm sorry you had to go through that. Ever since my mom got her purse stolen at Enrichment Night (yeah! at church!) I have been paranoic about that happening to me.

Heather said...

That is SO terrible! Why are people so greedy. I hope everything turns out okay.