Purse Thefts at Gas Pumps

Thieves are looking for purses, left unattended in a car. Then they slide in and swipe them.

We've had cases in Fresno where women have had their purses ripped off their shoulder while walking to their car, and taken from seats at the movie theater, even the grocery cart.

Now crooks are watching women at the gas pump.

Take a look at this video out of Houston, Texas. A woman is filling up her SUV. See how the silver car pulls up next to her just like another customer.

While the woman focuses on the gas pump, the crook crouches down, opens the passenger door and grabs her purse.

“You're going to leave for a minute you think it's ok to leave your purse or your backpack or something in your car,” said Fresno Police Sergeant Mark Hudson.

Hudson says it's just not safe to leave valuables where crooks can get to them.

This crook jumped through a driver’s window to grab the purse of a woman who was filling up her tank.

“The best thing to do is to make sure your stuff's not in the car when you leave it again leave it at home, put it in the trunk. Don't leave it in plain view,” Hudson said.

Marnie Anguiano learned that lesson the hard way - when someone stole her cell phone.

“I turned my back for a second to grab something off the shelf and turned back and my phone was gone,” Anguiano said.

Her phone was sitting on top of her purse in a shopping cart.

“I had to get into the habit of keeping it in my pocket and keeping my purse close to me which is something I normally wouldn't ever do,” Anguiano said.

Now she'll be more vigilant when filling up as well.

When you're filling up the tank, keep your purse out of sight and always lock your doors.