LAWRENCE: Police warn of pickpocket thefts

The Lawrence Township Police Department wants residents to be aware of the growing number of pickpockets, said police Detective Sgt. Joseph Amodio.

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
   A 67-year-old Princeton woman was shopping at a store at the Mercer Mall and had put her purse in her shopping cart. A woman approached her and asked her some questions, and then left.
   The Princeton woman did not think anything of it and left the store. When she went to another store at the mall and reached into her purse for her wallet to pay for some items, she discovered her wallet was missing — along with her credit cards.
   By the time the victim contacted the credit card companies, she discovered the thief had charged $3,000 worth of items at stores at the Quaker Bridge Mall, as well as stores in Langhorne, Pa., and Philadelphia.
   The Princeton woman is not alone in having her wallet stolen by a pickpocket, and that’s why the Lawrence Township Police Department wants residents to be aware of the growing number of such incidents, said police Detective Sgt. Joseph Amodio.
   Pickpockets may work alone or with someone to distract their victims, Sgt. Amodio said. One person will be a distraction while the second person is taking the wallet. Women are more susceptible than men because they carry their wallet inside a pocketbook.
   ”Pickpockets target their victims by watching them as they are shopping or dining in a restaurant,” he said. “Pickpockets look for unzipped pocketbooks and remove the wallet, while the victim might only feel she has been bumped into. Once the wallet is obtained, the thief takes the cash and begins using the victim’s credit cards.”
   Pickpockets also go into restaurants in search of potential victims seated at tables or the bar area, Sgt. Amodio said. Pickpockets will remove a wallet while the victim has put the pocketbook on the back of a chair or on the bar. The victim does not discover the theft until she looks for her wallet. The pickpocket has charged merchandise on the credit cards before the credit card company flags them as stolen.
   To avoid becoming a victim, Sgt. Amodio said, “keep your pocketbooks zipped and close to your side.”
   Victims should contact the Police Department as soon as possible, and then notify the bank and credit card companies of the theft and to cancel the cards.
   ”The sooner the credit cards are canceled, the less time the pickpockets have to make fraudulent purchases. Get a credit report to see if your identity was used to open fraudulent credit accounts,” Sgt. Amodio said.