KPTV - FOX 12Police: Wallet thieves targeting women at grocery stores

A joint investigation between the Portland Police Bureau and Beaverton Police Department has homed in on three people suspected of targeting women at grocery stores.

Portland police identity theft investigator Dave Staab says one arrest has been made but two other male suspects remain on the run.

Staab says the rash of thefts started in early and mid-December.

He says Denise Tucker, 57, and two other men would target women at the stores.

"One of the three would go up and ask the female shopper a question," Staab says.

Police call it a distraction technique. With the shopper occupied and their back turned, another person will slip in and steal the victim's wallet, Staab says.

What makes this case unique is that once the thieves had a wallet, they most likely met Tucker in a vehicle where she would make high-quality fake identification cards, police say.

"They were printed directly onto the plastic," Staab says. "It's fairly sophisticated."

Within minutes of making the ID cards, the suspects would head to nearby stores to make fraudulent purchases with the victim's credit card, according to officers.

"They'd be out running, trying to buy small electronics, usually iPads and cell phones," Staab says.

By the time the victims would notice their credit cards were stolen, the thieves would have charged several hundreds of dollars, police say.

Kay Balmer, a victim of the trio, says she was looking at makeup on Dec. 14 at the Fred Meyer store along Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard when a man approached her and asked about some chapstick.

"He said to me, 'Is this what you use to clear up your skin?' And I was just like, 'No, that's for your lips,'" she says.

The conversation lasted only a few seconds but by the time it ended, police say, Tucker's group had swiped Balmer's wallet from her purse in the shopping cart.

Balmer says she had $200 in case stolen and the thieves tried to make a $1,500 purchase in gift cards but American Express was able to stop the transaction.

Staab says authorities believe there are more victims.

He says Tucker was arrested Dec. 14 but the two other men are still wanted by police and may have left the area.

Anyone who may have had fraudulent credit card activity and who thinks they may be a victim of these suspects is urged to call Portland police at 503-823-4800.

Anyone who thinks they know the identity of the two men in the case should call Crimestoppers at 503-823-HELP (4357).

Copyright 2012 KPTV (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.