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OREM — Orem police are asking for the public’s help to find several suspects who tried to rack up thousands of dollars on a stolen credit card.
Jeanne Harrison had lunch at Chili’s in Orem, 122 E. 1300 South, on Wednesday and left her wallet at the table after paying for her meal.
Within minutes, somebody snatched her wallet and got to work on a spending spree in the same neighborhood, she later learned.
Harrison realized her wallet was gone when she went shopping after lunch. She retraced her steps and returned to the restaurant, but her wallet was nowhere to be found.
“Under the bench, and everywhere,” Harrison said about the search. “I was now panicked.”
Orem police Lieutenant Craig Martinez said officers learned two men and two women were also at the restaurant eating, and might have been the ones who swiped Harrison’s wallet from the table where it was left behind.
It didn’t take long for Harrison’s bank to notify her about the new charges to her account. Within an hour, she was alerted that someone was already using her card, she said.
“It usually happens that way because people that try to use these stolen cards know that the gig is going to be up eventually,” Martinez said. “So they want to try to get as much as they can before they are reported stolen.”
Across the street at Best Buy, 309 E. University Pkwy., the thieves tried to buy an Apple MacBook for $2,800. Later at Target, 175 Center St., they charged a total of $1,800 between two separate purchases to Harrison’s card. Although the charges were declined at Best Buy, the thieves made off with clothes and pre-paid gift cards at Target.
In addition to her credit card, Harrison lost about $5 in cash and had to get a new driver’s license.
“It’s the inconvenience of the whole thing,” Harrison said. “It’s a pain.”
Harrison was disappointed an honest person did not spot her wallet first. Surveillance cameras at Target captured images of two of the suspects and their car.
Martinez told KSL chances are good police will catch the thieves because of their success rate on cases like this when the department shares pictures with the public on social media.
Martinez had some advice for residents when it comes to personal belongs.
"You got to keep your purse close,” he said. “That goes for men too: you've got to keep your wallet close."
