ORLANDO, Fla. -- Orlando police said they have surveillance pictures of at least two people involved in a distraction theft scheme. There are at least five victims from two different shopping malls. In each case, women lost purses or wallets and the credit cards or bankcards inside were being used by the crooks within minutes.
But these were no small purchases. The crooks bought things like laptop computers and digital cameras and camcorders. Victims were taken for thousands of dollars.
Tuesday, Orlando police released images of two people they said were spending with stolen credit cards, cards ripped off from people like Augusta Peterson.
"It made me angry. After being shocked, it made me angry," she said.
Peterson said, in her 80 years, she had never been scammed like this. It happened to her inside a Macy's. She thinks the man in the surveillance image distracted her while someone else stole her wallet right out of her purse.
"He was very smooth, very smooth. He gave no indication of anything going on," she said.
Peterson is one a growing number of victims at The Mall at Millenia and Florida Mall. Police said the thieves use distraction techniques to steal purses and pocketbooks and then go to stores like Circuit City, emptying bank accounts and maxing out credit cards.
"When we called in, they had purchased $1,064 over at Target," Peterson said.
"We're not sure if they're all linked, but we do think they are working in groups," said Sgt. Barbara Jones, Orlando Police Department.
Jones said the thieves are after high-dollar electronics and usually spend thousands of dollars before victims even know what hit them.
"These people, they're criminals, and they do know how to do their business, and they're going to do it as quickly as possible," Jones said.
Police said one of the things that makes matters worse is that merchants are not checking ID validating the possession of the card, especially with large purchases.
Several victims were hit with charges in excess of $1,000 and, in one case, $3,500.
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