From smash and grab to identity theft, a victim's warning as police search for suspects
RUSTON, Wash. -- Ruston police are trying to identify a woman captured on surveillance cameras using Samantha Logar’s stolen credit cards.
Police say the credit cards were stolen from Samantha’s car while she shopped inside a Tacoma Fred Meyer on June 6.
“It’s really disturbing to know that within a half hour of her breaking my window she's got my bag my ID my credit cards and she's attempting to use them. I had been in there only 30 minutes and I got a text on my cell phone asking me if I was charging at a nearby Walgreens,” says Samantha.
Samantha replied "deny" to the fraud prevention text messages from her bank. She thought it was just a mistake.
“Lo and behold, went out to the car and sure enough the window was broken and realized that my bag had been stolen,” says Samantha.
Samantha says two backpacks were missing form her backseat and inside them a crook's dream.
“My credit cards, I had a loan application in the bag so it had social security number, how much money I make, where I work, where I live, it had an old picture ID, a passport,” says Samantha.
Ruston Police Chief Victor Celis says the only way to protect yourself is to never leave anything of value in your car -- not even your trunk is safe.
“If they walk by your car and they don't see anything, hopeful they'll move on somewhere else. And if they just keep moving down the line, eventually hopefully they will run out of places,” says Celis.
“I find myself carrying everything with me now and not leaving anything to be vulnerable,” says Samantha.
Ruston police say the suspect is also working with a man, but they do not have a description of him just yet. Police say the two were driving a green SUV.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.