Alleged thief charges up nearly $4,000 with stolen cards at Myrtle Beach stores

A woman told Myrtle Beach police that almost $4,000 in unauthorized purchases were made with her credit cards after her wallet was stolen from her purse while she was at Barnes and Noble at the Market Common.

Police were called about 7 p.m. Wednesday to the Coastal Grand Mall where a 27-year-old victim reported the incident to police after she noticed her wallet was missing, according to a police report.

The victim told police she was at Barnes and Noble from about 10:45 to 11:45 a.m. using her laptop. She said she did get up to fill her water bottle during her time there, and did briefly leave her purse unattended, authorities said.

When the victim noticed her wallet was gone about 6 p.m., she checked her bank statements and noticed there were multiple unauthorized purchases, totaling nearly $4,000, according to the report.

The victim immediately notified police and canceled all her credit cards. She reported to officers that her cards were used at JCPenney’s and Best Buy.

The alleged thief also tried to make a $648 purchase at the Ocean Jewels kiosk at the Coastal Grand Mall, but the merchant denied the attempt when a driver’s license that matched the name on the card could not be shown, police said.

The victim said the alleged thief also made a $1,882.49 purchase at a Kay Jewelers store.

Myrtle Beach Police said they have obtained surveillance footage from the Kay Jewelers store and plan to obtain security footage from Barnes and Noble as well.

No arrests had been made as of Thursday morning. Police are still investigating the incident.

This story was originally published February 26, 2015 at 8:46 AM with the headline "Alleged thief charges up nearly $4,000 with stolen cards at Myrtle Beach stores ."