VACAVILLE, Calif. -- An elderly woman using a walker allegedly stole a wallet from a woman's purse and eventually $20,000 from the victim's savings account, according to KTXL.
The elderly woman and her friend apparently visited a Panera Bread in Vacaville, California where they took the wallet out of another woman's purse. Minutes later, the duo started using her credit cards and eventually withdrawing money from the victim's savings account.
The elderly woman and her friend are shown on the bank's surveillance video after making withdrawals amounting to $20,000.
"This tactic is very common," Lt. Chris Polen said said. "They start out really small, with a small purchase to see if it's still activated."
The victim did not want to talk to KTXL about the theft, but another victim with a similar story talked to KTXL.
Carol said she visited the same Panera Bread in May and someone stole her mom's wallet. She said someone dropped a handful of change to create a diversion – and one of the people involved was using a cane.
The thieves stole $300 in cash and tried to charge $2,000 to the victim's credit cards. Carol believes the two crimes are likely connected.
"If your sole purpose in life is to take things that don't belong to you, then you're probably going to get pretty sophisticated on how to go about that," Carol told KTXL.
Police did not say how these women were able to make withdrawals or whether or not the woman with the walker was in disguise, but they said there might be similar crimes that are taking place in other counties around the area.
