The Livermore Police Department is sounding the alarm over a “crime trend” of unattended wallets being stolen from shopping carts at Trader Joe’s locations, though the obvious solution is just not leaving your wallet unattended.
The newest hubbub over Oakland crime is the permanent closure of the In-N-Out near the Oakland airport, and a nearby Denny’s also announcing they’re closing, with both restaurants blaming crime and safety issues.
More upscale East Bay communities like Danville, San Ramon, and Pleasanton tend to not have these problems. Or don’t they? A Thursday morning Facebook post from the Livermore Police Department says there's been a surge of wallet thefts at East Bay Trader Joe’s stores in Contra Costa and Alameda counties, in a region known as the Tri-Valley.
“Recently there have been wallet thefts that have occurred at other Trader Joe stores in the Tri-Valley,” the police department said. “In these crimes, wallets were taken from unattended shopping carts or open purses while victims were shopping in the store.”
Who’s leaving their wallet unattended in a shopping cart at the grocery store? Apparently some people have been. At the expense of sounding condescending, do not leave your wallet unattended in a shopping cart while at the grocery store.
As the Chronicle points out, the police department does not say which Trader Joe’s are having this wallet-theft problem. But there are four Trader Joe’s locations in the region known as the Tri-Valley: one each in Castro Valley, Danville, Pleasanton, and San Ramon.
KRON4 has a reminder based on the police department's recommendations, urging people to be aware of their surroundings while shopping, to leave your wallet in a pocket or a zipped bag on your person, and to avoid distractions like your phone while shopping.
Related: Purse Snatching at Cow Hollow Parklet Leads Directly to Victim's Car Being Stolen [SFist]
Image: Richard K. via Yelp
