EVANSVILLE, IN (WFIE) –
Evansville Police are warning businesses about a theft at the checkout counter.
Police say a woman has stolen $400 from a local grocery store chain using prepaid credit cards.
Prepaid credit cards and gift cards are only worth the plastic if they're taken before the clerk activates it at the register. If they're taken after being scanned, the store can be out a whole lot more.
Evansville Police say four IGA stores in the Tri-State have fallen victim to the same theft.
Sergeant Jason Cullum with the EPD says the theft works the same way every time.
A woman selects groceries and then adds a prepaid credit card. After the clerk activates it, she quickly slips it in her purse and replaces it with an invalid card.
She then makes an excuse to leave the store without buying groceries, taking the activated card.
Cullum says the woman knew what she was doing all along.
“A lot of these people that run these scams, that's all they do and they're very good at what they do and it only takes them a second to do it.”
Debbie Moyer works at Grocery Outlet. She says prepaid cards are becoming more and more popular. She says at her grocery store, the clerk is very vigilant during the sale.
“They'll tell us the amount they want on it, and then we do the gift card activation on it, and we scan the card.”
Cullum says since they believe this is a repeat offender, they're hopeful they can track her.
Detectives say the suspect is a Hispanic female with brown hair and brown eyes, 25 to 35 years old, about 5'3″ and about 150 pounds.
Police have released surveillance pictures of the suspect and are asking for your help.
If you have any information on the suspect, you can contact the financial crimes division at the EPD.
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14 News, WFIE, Evansville, Henderson, OwensboroEPD looking into prepaid credit card theft