VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — With the holiday season just around the corner, local authorities are reminding shoppers to pay attention to their surroundings when they're in stores.
Virginia Beach Crime Solvers highlighted one theft in September proving how clever some thieves can be when going after your hard-earned cash.
Three people teamed up to steal thousands of dollars from one woman's credit card. Authorities said the thieves devised a plan to distract and keep watch, while one escaped with that woman’s cards.
It happened on Sept. 24. Virginia Beach Crime Solvers said a man approached a woman while she shopped at TJ Maxx on Virginia Beach Boulevard.
According to authorities, the man began talking about face cream, which they said was the perfect distraction to lure the woman away from her purse. While one thief stood watch, another stole her credit cards and went on a $10,000 shopping spree at three stores in the Pembroke Mall area.
“I haven’t personally had that happen, but I’ve had a lot of friends go through something similar,” one shopper told 13News Now.
One woman told 13News Now situations like that are why she always stays alert while shopping.
“Just being very aware of my surroundings, paying attention to who is where on what aisles when I’m shopping,” she said.
Another shopper said while she shops more often online when in stores, her shopping safety rule of thumb is to shop with friends.
”Travel in groups everybody looks out for each other,” she said.
Authorities advised shoppers to keep themselves and their valuables safe by being aware of strangers, reporting suspicious activity to store staff, never leaving bags or packages unattended, not carrying large amounts of money and keeping money in their front pockets.
If you have information about thefts that can help investigators, submit a tip by calling 1-888-LOCK-U-UP.