Woman says thief racked up $700 on stolen card in minutes

EAST POINT, Ga. — It only took a thief minutes to snatch a woman's credit cards and rack up hundreds of dollars. 
 
Keli Jones tells Channel 2's Carl Willis she was shopping at the Target in the Camp Creek Marketplace when she had her wallet snatched out of her purse.
 
"I literally took two steps and came back and saw her," said Jones. 
 
As soon as she turned her head the woman had her hands on Jones' wallet that was in her shopping cart. 
 
Jones said she noticed the thief but kept her eyes on her son who was in the cart and not her bag.
 
"I was simply worried about her running off with the cart and getting back to my son," she said.
 
By the time she realized the woman was really after her wallet the woman had already spent nearly $700 dollars on gift cards at the Lowes and Publix in the same shopping center.
 
Willis requested the surveillance video from East Point Police, but they declined because it's part of an ongoing investigation.
 
However, Jones said employees at Publix recognized the woman when they reviewed the video.
 
"They told me that the woman had actually been in the store and had done this before," she said. "I'm disappointed in the fact that she wasn't identified properly, and that is a huge thing."
 
Jones said she was told that identity thieves are getting tricky. 
 
They swipe your stolen card then when they are asked to produce it and their ID, they show a different credit card that matches their license.
 
Police said cashiers need pay attention to this.
 
East Point police said they were reviewing the video, following leads and working to identify a suspect.

WSBTV