Suspected Credit Card Thieves Ring Up $8.5K at Target: Police

UPDATED at 4:30 p.m.

Police are reminding residents to check their credit card statements frequently and take other precautions after two suspected thieves rang up more than $8,500 worth of purchases in eight minutes with stolen credit cards at a Rockville Target store.

NBC Washington reports the rightful owner of the credit cards didn’t realize they were missing until she began receiving text alerts about expensive purchases. While at dinner with her husband, the woman received a text message about a costly purchase, followed seconds later by another alert.

The victim checked her purse and realized her wallet was gone.

Two women shown on Target’s security camera allegedly charged $4,000 to a Visa card, $4,000 to an American Express card and $530.05 to a MasterCard.

Detectives have obtained surveillance video of two women reportedly using the victim’s stolen cards to purchase gift cards. The recording shows the suspects entering the Target store at Target located at 5700 Bou Ave. in Rockville at about 7:20 p.m. on Dec. 5. They approached the check-out at 7:24 p.m., and left the store at about 7:28 p.m.

Anyone who recognizes the suspects is asked to call the Montgomery County Police – Financial Crimes Section at 240-773-6338.

Crime Solvers is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for any information that leads to the arrest of these suspects. Call Crime Solvers of Montgomery County toll-free at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477) or leave a Crime Solvers tip here. Tipsters will remain anonymous.

Just last week Montgomery County officials reminded residents of precautions to take during the holidays.

Important Holiday Shopping Safety Tips include:

• Stay aware of your surroundings.
• Lock your car doors and don’t leave anything of value within view.
• If you take trips back to your vehicle to lighten your gift package load, move your car to a different parking space because potential thieves can be watching to see which vehicles contain gifts.
• Don’t hide or store gifts in your trunk when you get home from shopping. Theft from vehicle is a prevalent crime.
• Do not carry large amounts of cash.
• Keep a list of credit cards at home, in case they are stolen.
• Carry your closed purse in front of and close to your body.
• Carry a wallet in a front jacket or pants pocket.
• Don’t let your guard down because you are in a rush.
• If someone does try to rob you, don’t resist. Give up your property; do not endanger your life. Report the crime to police as soon as possible, and try to describe the attacker as accurately as possible.

»These women are suspected of using stolen credit cards at a Rockville Target store. Screenshot from NBC Washington