Ladies, If Your Purse Was Stolen

Jules

SF VIP
Ladies, if your purse was stolen what would they get?

This has been in the news recently. Someone here mentioned theirs was stolen once. I see ladies with their purses wide open in grocery carts, on the seat of a walker, hanging off a chair, sitting on a table in a restaurant. The thieves are fast. Even when you think it’s tucked away, someone else can distract you and it’s gone.

Sometimes I think we’re less cautious in a nicer setting, it feels more secure.

Men make casual mistakes too, like a wallet left in the truck, a wallet sitting on a restaurant table.
 

I don't carry any valuables in my purse only my wallet. I don't care if they make off with the money but it's all the credit cards and driver's license that are so hard to replace. I was in a restaurant one day and the lady at the table next to me suddenly yelled out that someone had made off with her cell phone that she had on the table. He was so fast that security was unable to catch him. I'm afraid if someone tried to make off with my purse, they would have to drag me along with them as I have the straps across my shoulder.
 
I don't carry a purse most of the time. When I go shopping I leave my purse out of sight on the floor in my car or in the trunk. I carry cash/credit cards in my pants pocket.

Oh, and a tissue in my other pocket. 😊😉
 
I don't carry any valuables in my purse only my wallet. I don't care if they make off with the money but it's all the credit cards and driver's license that are so hard to replace. I was in a restaurant one day and the lady at the table next to me suddenly yelled out that someone had made off with her cell phone that she had on the table. He was so fast that security was unable to catch him. I'm afraid if someone tried to make off with my purse, they would have to drag me along with them as I have the straps across my shoulder.
Don't think they wouldn't tho'..:(

I had a friend in Spain, she was English , and a big lass. 6 feet, and heavily built.

She always wore her bag across her body, muggings are endemic in Spain.

One day she got into her car , and just as she climbed in before she could shut the door, a scumbag threw himself into the car and grabbed her bag.. well of course she went with it as he dragged both her and the bag out of the car.

She managed to fight him, and she punched him square in the nose busting his nose, before he ran off.
 
Ladies, if your purse was stolen what would they get?

This has been in the news recently. Someone here mentioned theirs was stolen once. I see ladies with their purses wide open in grocery carts, on the seat of a walker, hanging off a chair, sitting on a table in a restaurant. The thieves are fast. Even when you think it’s tucked away, someone else can distract you and it’s gone.

Sometimes I think we’re less cautious in a nicer setting, it feels more secure.

Men make casual mistakes too, like a wallet left in the truck, a wallet sitting on a restaurant table.
...and men who carry their wallets in their back pocket with the first 3rd sticking out.. thinking I suppose that they'll feel it being taken. However pickpockets are well trained.. they just would have it and be gone in a second...
 
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..another story again with a cross body bag.. in Spain again, different area.. someone who I didn't know but it got into the local papers...

A British middle aged couple who had lived in Spain at that time for 15 years and had intended living there the rest of their lives were strolling back home at sunset , when a couple of mopeds with 2 people on each drove up beside them and grabbed the woman's crossbody bag. Well of course they dragged her with it, going 30mph, along the road... before her bag broke .

She was badly injured, .. and her teenage son and his friends went hunting for these muggers much against their mother's advice... but the worst of it was that the husband feeling that he should have protected her ultimately had a breakdown... and 6 months after the attack, the whole family left to return to the UK...
 
I hate to carry and keep track of things.

The glovebox in my car is full of ‘essential’ items.

When I’m out and about I carry a plastic business card case in my pocket that was leftover from my working days.

The case holds my driving license, a credit card and a bit of cash.

I’m trying to become brave enough to rely on the digital wallet in my iPhone but old habits die hard.

IMO purses are more of a generational thing or fashion accessory.

I remember my mother carrying a wet washcloth in a plastic bag or my grandmother fishing around in the bottom of her purse to find me a lint covered piece of candy or half stick of gum.

My grandmother’s purse was so big that it would have made a comfortable shelter for a homeless person. 😉🤭😂
 
I hate to carry and keep track of things.

The glovebox in my car is full of ‘essential’ items.

When I’m out and about I carry a plastic business card case in my pocket that was leftover from my working days.

The case holds my driving license, a credit card and a bit of cash.

I’m trying to become brave enough to rely on the digital wallet in my iPhone but old habits die hard.

IMO purses are more of a generational thing or fashion accessory.

I remember my mother carrying a wet washcloth in a plastic bag or my grandmother fishing around in the bottom of her purse to find me a lint covered piece of candy or half stick of gum.

My grandmother’s purse was so big that it would have made a comfortable shelter for a homeless person. 😉🤭😂
I'm not interested in using apple pay et al on my phone.. the phone is a big target even more so than a purse...
 
I never had my purse stolen. But shopping in Bloomingdales in NY, the store was crowded and a woman bumped into me and was apologizing. While she was talking, her accomplice put her hand into my purse and stole my wallet. I didn't know it at the time that was what happened. But afterwards I found out that is a typical thing they do. They got about $200 bucks but I was most upset about losing my Gucci wallet and license and cards that were in it. I learned to never carry a purse that does not have a zipper on the top.

The other thing I learned, which thankfully, did not happen to me but I witnessed it. Leaving a grocery store at night going to my car, another woman was also going the same direction as me. Carrying her purse in the seat on the grocery cart, she stopped to open her trunk and out of no where a guy on a bicycle zoomed by and grabbed her purse. Was gone before I could blink! After that, I always put my purse in the car and locked the door while loading groceries in the car. Day or night.
 
I have this rucksack style bag which is anti theft.. the zipper to inside the bag is across my back and not on the outside facing the thief... the fromt zipper you see is just a tiny pocket.. but the main compartment is the other side of the bag.. hidden from view

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It's really spacious and it costs only £8 on Temu..one of the best thing I've bought from there...I took it with me last summer when I went away for a week to the coast
 
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If my cross-body purse (best for me as I like 2 hands free) was stolen they would get cash, couple of charge cards, my glasses and a few other things which I am going to check soon. My cellphone has 'wallet' with 2 charge cards, debit card and GO train travel. I try to be always aware of my surroundings and I'm not out a night much. In the car I never thought of threading the seat belt through the strap of the bag. I have phone numbers listed so I can call and cancel any cards right away.
 
I use every precaution I can with my purse...cross body, I hide my purse in my locked car and only carry my credit card, keys and shopping list in a zippered pant pocket, most of the time I ride the electric carts while shopping and a purse is cumbersome.
 
Laugh ... well for the most part. My phone is always on my person when out, It that they can get their hands down the pocket of me jeans... I would be surprised. If they snatch my purse... Lots a luck with that. On my phone call my bank freeze acct until I get there . Have alerts also set up in case someone uses the card in the meantime.
 
"If your purse was stolen?" I immediately thought of my ex. Oh, Gawd NO, going purse shopping again!!!!!!!!
Her purse couldn't be too big, but it couldn't be too small. It had to have lots of pockets, but it couldn't be bulky. It had to be sort of soft, but not floppy. And all the technology of all of mankind has not produced the exact color she wanted. Apparently, you have to hunt down the new purse by going to a minimum of 30-40 stores. Of course, the first purse she saw in the first store was the best, but it wasn't perfect. In ten years of purse shopping, she never found that perfect purse.
My idea of hell is purse shopping.
 
My purse is a Travelon crossbody. Attractive, no. Practical enough for me, since most of the time I’m walking to the store. Travelon and PacSafe make a variety of bags with slash resistant straps and other security features.

Does anyone you in the US carry a gun in her purse?
 
I like my cross-body purse or my fanny pack so I can be hands free when I shop. I stopped worry about fashion a long time ago for day to day errands. Both can be worn under a jacket, sweater or light shirt, depending on weather, when out & about. Makes snatching a bit harder.

My MIL's friend had her purse stolen at LAX when she was in a stall. She left it hanging on the hook on the door when someone reached over & grabbed it. Depending on the stall, some have shelves or a flat top TP holder you can sit something on close to you. Others have handicap rails that you can loop your purse straps through. I'll take my the straps & wrap them around the hook every which way I can to make it harder. I'll put my coat over that if I'm wearing one. If all else fails, I give it to my husband to hold on to.

My babysitter had someone grab her purse that was on her shoulder when she walked out to her car from the grocery store. They seen a 5' gray haired lady that was an easy target, but soon found out it was like pulling the proverbial pin on a hand grenade. Thief lost big time. It was also good some guys came running when they seen what was happening.

At Christmas shopping time, I only carry my license, a credit card & a few dollars in a smaller wallet that I keep in a zipped pocket in my jacket. At festivals & crowds, I carry the same wallet either in my front jean pocket or in a smaller cross-body/fanny pack on me. No matter what time of year, my keys are on me in a pocket, especially now that one car uses a fob. If my regular wallet was taken I'd loose my license, insurance cards, credit card, store rewards cards & in my purse my calendar & cheater glasses. I've really pared down from what I used to carry.

The thieves are looking for people who are an easy target. Stay aware of who or what is going on around you. Don't be afraid to look directly at the people you see & they'll know you see them. If they have bad intentions, they're going to look for someone else who isn't looking their way.

Please, if you do see some one loitering out in a lot or hanging around in a spot that doesn't look right, call the police & give a description.
 
I'm the person on SF who wrote my bag was stolen last year (unless more than just me said so). I wasn't paying attention, and stopped in the street to get something out, and this kid was looking for someone just like me apparently.They got all my credit and bank cards, house keys, even my phone, which I usually carry in my hand but had in my purse, cannot remember why. It was a month long nightmare to recoup everything. He even had the balls to charge an expensive pair of sneakers; luckily I got my bank to cancel that. Now I carry only this mini-purse and am much more alert all the time.
 


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