Lost my wallet tonight:(

[disfanforlife]

So incredibly sorry this happened to you. I have found wallets a couple of times ( I work in a store) and always felt so good to return them to the rightful owner. Thankfully there are many more good and honest people in the world than not. Too bad one of them didn't find it for you.

 

[runwad]

My DD19 and I went to Applebees last friday and when I got out of the car there was a wallet on the ground. It was by the car beside us. We took it in and found the owner by the guys picture in his wallet. My DD went and gave it back to him. He thanked her and she heard him say when she walked away something to the effect, he had a lot of money in there, thank goodness she didn't take any of it.

I thought of you OP.

 

[havaneselover]

So I have an update!

I got a call from a detective in one of the 4 jurisdictions where my checks were used and he said they basically have suspects who are incarcerated for another crime (interestingly they stole an older women's purse at a local store and I had even mentioned that to several of the officers/detectives I was working with because the photos from the news looked a bit like the photo I was shown of the woman using my check at Target).

This doesn't really mean much for me because most of what they got away with (over $4,000) was absorbed by banks and retailers. I was only out about $200 plus my wallet (very nice Coach wallet that I miss!). But it makes me feel better. And I'm glad I put a lot of effort into following up with the police departments involved.

Also, I'm still dealing with Target collections for the $2,500 in checks they wrote that were returned by my bank. I've been asking them for over a month to please send me an affidavit of fraud and they keep telling me they sent it but I have yet to receive it. Funny thing is I'm getting all of the collection letters! So they sent me to my bank and said they could provide the affidavit but of course my bank was clueless and only had an ID fraud affidavit which I don't think is what I need. In the meantime, Target says I can't write checks. Which is fine because I've NEVER written a check at Target Not sure if it impacts my RedCard so I'm just not using it right now.

 

[kymom99]

My sister who was robbed a year ago Dec. 30 had an ipad taken. The detective told her how to go to find my iPhone and set it to lock the next time it is opened. Well it was finally opened this past November 2017! She got a notification along with a pin marked on a map where she was able to get the address. Well guess what. They won't do anything about it because they say the pin could be inaccurate. But at least she knows its locked and they can't use it. Most likely someone bought it from someone else. Who knows where it has been. The red tape is truly incredible.

OP I hope you get the check thing straightened out and I hope they have the criminals. It does give a sense of closure knowing they aren't walking free.

 

[pigletto]

So I have an update!

I got a call from a detective in one of the 4 jurisdictions where my checks were used and he said they basically have suspects who are incarcerated for another crime (interestingly they stole an older women's purse at a local store and I had even mentioned that to several of the officers/detectives I was working with because the photos from the news looked a bit like the photo I was shown of the woman using my check at Target).

This doesn't really mean much for me because most of what they got away with (over $4,000) was absorbed by banks and retailers. I was only out about $200 plus my wallet (very nice Coach wallet that I miss!). But it makes me feel better. And I'm glad I put a lot of effort into following up with the police departments involved.

Also, I'm still dealing with Target collections for the $2,500 in checks they wrote that were returned by my bank. I've been asking them for over a month to please send me an affidavit of fraud and they keep telling me they sent it but I have yet to receive it. Funny thing is I'm getting all of the collection letters! So they sent me to my bank and said they could provide the affidavit but of course my bank was clueless and only had an ID fraud affidavit which I don't think is what I need. In the meantime, Target says I can't write checks. Which is fine because I've NEVER written a check at Target Not sure if it impacts my RedCard so I'm just not using it right now.

I just read this whole thread this morning and wanted to say how awful this all is and that I'm sorry you've been dealing with it all. I bet your story has helped countless people think about what we do to keep our own wallets secure and what we bring in public with us.. so thank you.
My opinion fwiw is that these are career criminals. There is no way someone happened upon your wallet and decided to become a criminal that day. They knew what they were looking for and you were targeted. My guess is your wallet was sticking out of the top of your purse while you loaded things into the car? I was just thinking about how when I am loading my groceries my purse is often in the cart .. which is behind me.. and my wallet would be easily accessible because I just threw it in my purse. I am often flustered when checking out, paying, trying to get everything organized. I bet horrible people like this sit and watch for anyone who is distracted. From now on my purse will go in the car before I do anything else. Bottom line... this was in no way your fault. I would bet money they were hunting.

 

[RainSW6]

Horrible, I hope this whole mess will be behind you soon! If they caught the right person at least they won't be harming anyone else for a while.

I agree that you were likely picked out and intentionally robbed. My aunt was robbed in a Target about a year ago. She had her wallet in her purse in her cart and a random woman started chatting with her and asking her opinion on some baby clothes. While my aunt was talking to the woman, a man took her wallet from her bag. Turned out that the man was WITH the woman and she was deliberately distracting my aunt so her partner could steal it. Sadly people like this make it hard to trust anyone you meet when out and about

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

About a week ago I was at Costco and dropped a card holder (not my wallet with credit cards, but something to hold my loyalty cards and gift cards) out of my purse on the way out of the store. Probably while rummaging for my keys to get DD into the car as quick as possible. It was super cold that day. Well, I was almost all the way home when I got a call from the Costco. Someone found the wallet and turned it in to customer service. They found my Costco card in the holder and pulled up my contact information. Everything was 100% intact, including several high value gift cards. I feel pretty lucky that an honest person found it and not some terrible person.

 

[robinb]

Horrible, I hope this whole mess will be behind you soon! If they caught the right person at least they won't be harming anyone else for a while.

I agree that you were likely picked out and intentionally robbed. My aunt was robbed in a Target about a year ago. She had her wallet in her purse in her cart and a random woman started chatting with her and asking her opinion on some baby clothes. While my aunt was talking to the woman, a man took her wallet from her bag. Turned out that the man was WITH the woman and she was deliberately distracting my aunt so her partner could steal it. Sadly people like this make it hard to trust anyone you meet when out and about

The same thing happened to my mom a few years ago. All of her cards distributed and used within hours.

 

[havaneselover]

Just wanted to provide an update. Tomorrow I am going to court as a witness in one of the check forgery cases. This young woman has quite an extensive criminal record. Still waiting on a case in my county but this was the county with a detective working the case and where she wrote about $2,000 of checks on my account. I'm surprised this is actually going to court although I suppose her lawyer could still make a deal today.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Just wanted to provide an update. Tomorrow I am going to court as a witness in one of the check forgery cases. This young woman has quite an extensive criminal record. Still waiting on a case in my county but this was the county with a detective working the case and where she wrote about $2,000 of checks on my account. I'm surprised this is actually going to court although I suppose her lawyer could still make a deal today.

Good luck at trial. Glad they caught the culprit.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Just wanted to provide an update. Tomorrow I am going to court as a witness in one of the check forgery cases. This young woman has quite an extensive criminal record. Still waiting on a case in my county but this was the county with a detective working the case and where she wrote about $2,000 of checks on my account. I'm surprised this is actually going to court although I suppose her lawyer could still make a deal today.

Sounds like you might be in my building. Good luck!

 

[disneyeveryyear]

Just wanted to provide an update. Tomorrow I am going to court as a witness in one of the check forgery cases. This young woman has quite an extensive criminal record. Still waiting on a case in my county but this was the county with a detective working the case and where she wrote about $2,000 of checks on my account. I'm surprised this is actually going to court although I suppose her lawyer could still make a deal today.

Good luck in court. Just take a deep breath and answer only the question asked.

Did you finally get Target and their collection threats straightened out?

 

[havaneselover]

Good luck in court. Just take a deep breath and answer only the question asked.

Did you finally get Target and their collection threats straightened out?

Yes! And they were always very nice when dealing with me. It was an ordeal to get the affidavit from them and then to get copies of all of the checks, but I eventually got everything I needed.

 

[wendow]

Glad everything got settled with Target and that the thief was caught and is being prosecuted! So often, it seems the bad guys (or girls) just get away with this stuff, or at least, it seems that way since we never hear the resolution. Thanks for the update here!

 

[havaneselover]

I was not called. She waived her preliminary hearing on the three forgery charges so the detective expects her to plead guilty. The 79 year old women whose purse was forcibly taken by her male companion was also in the courtroom. Anyway I still believe my home county has charges against her but otherwise this is mostly in my rear view mirror.