Credit card thieves targeting suburban Philadelphia shoppers: Police

LOWER MERION TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- Many women shopping in suburban shopping centers have reported not knowing that their wallets were stolen until they reached the checkout line, and by that point, their credit cards might already have been used at another store.

Lower Merion Township police are looking for multiple people caught on surveillance video at stores in the township using stolen credit cards.

Just this past Monday, a credit card was reported stolen from Trader Joe's at Suburban Square in Ardmore.

The victim told police she reached the checkout aisle and discovered that her wallet was missing.

After she received numerous fraud alerts. Lower Merion police officers responded to the Target store on Monument Road and verified that her credit cards had been used there that same day.

Surveillance footage showed a woman in a black sun hat, a black sweater and a white or cream-colored sweatshirt using the stolen cards and walking out of the store.

Two different suspects were reported trying to purchase several $500 gift cards at the CVS in Ardmore on November 27.

According to police, the clerk asked the female suspect for her ID, but the woman would only show her the ID from a distance.

When the clerk said he needed to scan the ID, the woman replied she had a better one in the car and left the store.

She was seen on surveillance video with a male accomplice.

The pair fit the same description of another incident on November 18, where a victim reported her purse was stolen while she was shopping at the same Trader Joe's in Ardmore, and her credit cards were used nearby at the Apple Store and Free People.

The stolen credit cards were also used at the Bloomingdale's at the Willow Grove Park Mall and the GameStop on Old York Road, both in Abington Township .

Police said around $1,535 was spent to buy an iPhone 11 from Apple, and around $400 was spent shopping at Free People.

Police believe this is the same couple who was spotted on surveillance video at the Whole Foods in Rydal this past summer, stealing wallets out of shopper's purses. Like the other cases they used the stolen credit cards at nearby stores.

Some women at Suburban Square told Action News they feel safe shopping at suburban shopping centers, but now they'll be more vigilant of their surroundings, and they will keep their purses on them instead of in their shopping carts.

If you recognize the people in the surveillance video, you are asked to contact police.