Woman Warns Of Thieves After Having Wallet Stolen While Holiday Shopping

A woman’s wallet was stolen right out from under her nose. She says she never saw it coming.

That woman now has a word of warning to shoppers ahead of Black Friday.

Mary Van Meter was doing some holiday shopping at TJ Maxx when her wallet was taken.

“They were very good at what they do,” Van Meter said.

Van Meter says she was stopped by another shopper.

“A lady in a demanding voice kind of tapped me on the shoulder,” Van Meter said.

While she was distracted, her wallet was taken.

“A man came up to my cart, laid a shirt over my cart, and then took my wallet out of my purse,” Van Meter said.

Van Meter contacted police. The police report revealed that the lady and man were working together, and met somewhere else in the store with the wallet.

“There was another man that distracted the clerk,” Van Meter said.

Van Meter wants people to learn from her mistakes.

“I’m sure that I was a target,” Van Meter said. “I was very distracted and just wasn’t being very aware of my environment [...] Be very careful. If you’re going out shopping, be very intentional.”