Watch your purses!
 

Every week I take my 89 year old mother to the grocery store. She values her independance so I don't hover, but do my own shopping. Today as she looked over the produce, with her purse in the shopping cart....you know what happened. The store security tapes recorded the couple. They came into the store, saw an elderly woman not paying attention, took her purse and left. They were in and out in less than 5 minutes. The irony is that she has always 'nagged' at me to not leave my purse in the cart, or set it down any where. Of course she is very upset.
However, some things worked in her favor and are good ideas that may help others. She never carries her checkbook. She only had ONE financial card, a debit card. (the bank is in the same center as the market so I was able to cancel it within 30 minutes). She had very little in the purse, no jewlery or other valuables. She lost about $60. We were able to identify the things we have to replace - her state ID card (she doesn't drive), library card (which I also cancelled), and medical/insurance cards. Because we don't know if her social security card or number was in her wallet I will do some things on line to prevent identity theft. We also had her door locks changed immediately. Her keys had a tag that lists her senior living center with her address, which is right next to the store.
So, ladies, wear your purses, or use the kiddie safety strap to secure it into the shopping cart. I am going to reduce the number of cards I carry!
Hope this helps someone else avoid this problem.

I agree with you. At this time of year it's just best to carry a little change purse to put right into your pocket. I truely don't understand why people feel the need to rip others off. But it's what it is so we all need to be careful and help watch out for others.

So sorry to hear this. I worked in super markets for 27 years and i can tell you that this is not the first time this couple has commited this bad act. Hopefully management can identify this couple and alert their employees to be watchful. We had several elderly shoppers and as an employee we did our best to watch out for them. I wish you the best with getting her cards replaced and thing straightened out.

Judy in Phx

Yuck! I especially hate when people take advantage of an elderly person.

If I take my purse in, I always strap it in by wrapping the seat belts for the kids several times around the handles. and then thru the cart too.

Sadly, our society cares little for each other, and the elderly or just those not paying attention are great targets! I'm so sorry her purse was taken, but very glad she did not lose much and that you are there to watch our for her, and help her protect herself and her ID now that this has occured. I'm sure that it is greatly appreciated even if she has not said so!
God bless you!

I am sorry your moms purse was stolen. I hope that the persons that took it get their Karma SOON!! There is no reason for someone to steal from an elderly person as they don't have much as it is. I hope that it doesn't cause your mom to lose sleep worrying over it.
You did the best thing you could have done by changing her locks, notifying the bank, library etc. Good for you. Your a good daughter and one that we can all see that loves her mom dearly. :)

Thanks for the warning and all the good advice. But I like this one... never thought of it :) Sorry you had to experience this.

Some have also suggested keeping one's keys and cell phone in one's pocket instead of one's purse , so in case one's purse got snatched, one would still have them.

Men's clothes are so much more convenient with all the pockets most of them have!

I do the same.