Rash of stolen wallets at Norwell stores prompts warning from police

NORWELL, Mass. — Police in Norwell say women are being targeted inside popular stores like HomeGoods while their purses are in the shopping carts.

According to authorities, the thefts occur at different locations across town and are not specific to one business. It is unclear how many thefts have occurred or how many victims there are.

In all incidents, however, police say the victims put their purses inside of a shopping cart.

“Now I’m certainly going to be holding onto my bag and thinking twice,” said shopper Keleigh Doherty.

Surveillance video at a few locations allegedly shows the suspects wandering around a store while looking for a target.

In most of the cases, police say those who had their wallet stolen didn’t immediately realize it had happened because their purses were still in the shopping cart. This gives the suspects time to leave the store and charge items at different locations.

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Rash of stolen wallets at Norwell stores prompts warning from police (Norwell Police Department)

“I’m going to buy a purse that has a zipper on it and probably hold it around my shoulder,” said shopper Emma Botto.

And Norwell is not the only community with this problem.

Authorities say similar incidents have occurred all over Massachusetts and that the suspects aren’t from the South Shore area.

“You really have to keep your pocketbook on you and not in the cart,” said Jackie Dinsomre.

She says several of her friends have fallen victim to this tactic at supermarkets in other local communities.

“I think once you know someone personally that it has happened to then you become very aware of it,” said Dinsomre.

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Rash of stolen wallets at Norwell stores prompts warning from police (Norwell Police Department)

Investigators say they do not believe the suspects connected to these cases in Norwell are the same in the South Shore incidents.

Anyone with information about the suspects is urged to contact Norwell Police.

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