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Thieves target parked vehicles

By Jeff Haldiman
jhaldiman@newstribune.com

Police: Credit cards being taken from purses, wallets in cars

Published: Thursday, November 19, 2009 5:51 AM CST

Since August, Jefferson City police have had as many as 10 reports of credit card thefts from motor vehicles.

Capt. Mike Smith said the thieves have been mainly targeting women. They take the victim’s wallet or purse from his or her vehicle, remove one or two credit cards and return the wallet or purse to the vehicle. This allows the thieves time to use the credit cards before the victims notice them missing and can make reports to authorities or credit card companies.

“The thieves are using the cards to make some pretty big purchases such as electronic equipment and computers,” Smith said.

The thieves are targeting gyms or workout facilities as well as shopping centers, Smith said.

“They appear to be professionals because they leave very few signs of entry into a victim’s car,” he said.

With the Christmas shopping season rapidly approaching, Smith said, police are asking consumers to be security conscious by carrying only the cash necessary for a planned purchase, limit the number of items carried in purses or wallets and hide all purchases in a vehicle’s trunk before continuing to shop.


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bluenurse wrote on Nov 19, 2009 10:19 PM:

" There was a rash of car break-ins in St. Charles Co. last weekend - I believe it was in an apt. complex. Numerous cars were broken into - don't know about them getting anybody's purse or wallet, but they took stuff like CDs, GPS, etc - stuff many people have in their cars.
They also broke into cars in a hotel parking lot & got lot of stuff. The article said people don't always take all their luggage in.

The cops warned people about next weekend - xmas shopping. They state people might wait until the kids go to bed to take the shopping into the house - & the thieves know it. "

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Bsnoltth wrote on Nov 19, 2009 1:24 PM:

" wolfemom wrote
"There is a new technology where you lock your car with your remote and the theives use a device to unlock your car with the code from your remote."

Please don't spread the lies of spam emails around. This "new technology" is something that worked years and years ago when key fobs were first introduced... ie, old technology.

It has since (for a long time) been fixed.

Also note that this method would leave NO signs of a break in, rather than what the police said, "very few signs". "

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mommyof2 wrote on Nov 19, 2009 12:12 PM:

" wolfemom - I actually received an email about what you're talking about and checked it out on snopes. I recommend it to you. It's more of a scare tactic than anything else. And, I'm sorry, but leaving your "valuables" in your car is just plain stupid. If someone were to break into my car, All they'd get is junk mail that I forget to throw away! "

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cinnamon wrote on Nov 19, 2009 11:25 AM:

" There is an old technology called 'ignorance', whereby drivers plain and simple don't lock their doors. And another thing, who leaves their wallet / purse in their car anymore? "

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wolfemom wrote on Nov 19, 2009 11:18 AM:

" There is a new technology where you lock your car with your remote and the theives use a device to unlock your car with the code from your remote. "

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gofish wrote on Nov 19, 2009 10:49 AM:

" "They appear to be professionals because they leave very few signs of entry into a victims car,he said."

How is that even possible considering that almost all modern cars have some type of alarm and require a key or key fob to shut the alarm off? "

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Thieves target parked vehicles

By Jeff Haldimanjhaldiman@newstribune.com

Police: Credit cards being taken from purses, wallets in cars

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By Jeff Haldiman
jhaldiman@newstribune.com