OK. Yesterday started out wonderful. Did a shop at one of my favorite Mexican restaurants and my waiter's name was a name that name me think of the casino. So after getting my other three shops done and all the reports in I took myself off to the local casino because I figured my waiter's name was a good omen!
Went to the casino and had a great time and won! One of the machines I played rolled up a FULL screen of the symbols for free games and won 900 games and by the time they played out I had won another couple hundred games. The payout was, believe it or not, $888.88 so I figured that was a good omen, too, and continued to play for a while and win.
Now I never take my purse into the casino but lock it in my car and just take the cards I need and some cash. I, for some unknown reason, took my darn purse in so in the wee hours of the morning for another unknown reason, I sat it down between two slots while I was playing, got up and forgot it. When I returned to get it, of course, it was gone and again, of course, no one turned it in to security.
Now in my purse are my wallet with DL, ATM cards, credit cards, etc., a brand new Sony Walkman, my checkbook, and my cell phone which is only a couple months old.
I had to call my dear son-in-law to go by my house and pick-up my extra car keys and come get me.
By the time I got home and called my ATM/credit union Visa company they had already been by Home Depot and tried to buy something but for some reason my CU declined it - maybe because I haven't shopped at Home Depot in a long, long time. So thank goodness they didn't get any money that way. I closed my checking account so they can't write checks. BUT they used my cell phone to make a number of phone calls and to text message and we have a record of those phone numbers.
Now here's what I want to do (and please chime in with suggestions, critique, etc.). I want to block my phone number, call those numbers and tell them I am a PI friend of me who is working backwards to locate the people who took my purse and when they are located they will be charged with theft, fraud, etc. but if they take the purse with all the stuff back in it and drop it in a mailbox before I get to the thief we'll not pursue them because we feel that they just succumbed to temptation and hopefully are not really criminals. What do you think?

most casinos are cased with video cameras... it is next to impossible to leave with out the theif being recorded... whether or not they can be identified is a whole different matter...

impersonating an investigator can get you in really hot water and i would not suggest it...

talk a bit more with the casino people and share how much you won and how good of a customer you are and all that... express your concern for other members if the thief is not caught... but you will probably not know if they are caught or not... the police and casino do not give such information out...

either way i am assuming you made it out on the plus side... as most cell phones and walkmens do not run $900+... the pain, hurt, and embarrassment are well beyond the means of money to solve...

count your blessings...

Cool - Thx. I have rethought the scenario and changed it. I actually am going to call the numbers and tell them the truth. That their friends should have turned the purse into security and didn't, that I think they were not thinking, and ask them how they would feel if it were their 73 year old grandmother who is recovering from cancer, yada, yada, yada. I'm hoping that I can play on their sympathy and they will put a little peer pressure on. And I'll ask that the cell phone was suspended so they can't use it, atm cards cancelled, etc. and ask that they tell their friends to just simply put everything in the bag and drop it in the nearest mailbox.

Actually, I don't think the security folks at the casino really give a darn about what is stolen from us, only what is stolen from them. Maybe in a larger casino atmosphere they might be concerned about what was stolen from me but not here in NM.

I'm just sooo mad at myself because I never carry a purse into the casino and I haven't a clue as to what possessed me to do so this time!

And my cell phone is almost new and I hadn't even used the Walkman yet!

that is by far the best scenario... if nothing else the persons family/friends will know that someone is a thief and perhaps will take action to stop that person...

i keep forgetting that not all casinos have 2000+ machines in them and have been made in the last 5 years as they are here up north...

well mistakes happen... i remember i went to the gym when i was a teenager and put my pants in the locker with out a lock... and had $83 in cash ... cant remember why... went and played bball in shorts and came back to find that i only had $3 left... never left my stuff in a locker again... always carry it around... its just a matter of learning from your mistakes... dont beat yourself up about it... you cant change it... the more you dwell the higher your blood pressure goes... but your stuff doesnt come back...

It was a painful mistake. Not only did I have to close checking accout, ATM cards, etc. I had to go through all the MSC's I've shopped for in the past 60 days to make sure they had the right info. Fortunately most of them use PayPal - and that had to be changed too.

Definetily stop your cell...I lost my mine and was getting an upgrade in
a month, then someone turned it in to security at the mall. Camera's may help, credit cards companies will reverse charges.
My friend had her CC # taken (not the card), and they took a
road trip, charged $714.00 for gas and goodies in San Antonio TX (she's
in L.A.). They were never caught, we think it was a ring that makes new cards
using your #. Sorry for this, and after winning all that money, bummer.
When in a casino I always use a small purse wrapped over my body and under my arm...I know it's late for advice, you won't get the money back, and won't be charged for CC purchases, it's out of your hands now. Hard lesson.

You didn't mention the police. I hope you called them immediately. If not, call them today and make a report. Solving an easy case is good for their stats, so I'd expect them to be motivated. The thief should be a cinch to track down, due to the trail s/he has left.

That's what makes me so mad at myself. I absolutely never take my bag into the casino with me. I always take out my DL, ATM card and casino player's card and stick them in my pants or jacket pocket along with any cash I might need. I absolutely do not know what possessed me to do it yesterday.

At any rate I'll lay it on thick with their friends to see if I can put on some peer pressure and if I'm lucky maybe some of the phone numbers will be to people who are nicer, kinder and more honest.

You need a policereport for your records.

Can you record those phone calls in case they inadvertently give out some useful information that in your excitement you might not catch?

I decided not to call these people as I am a little afraid they would retaliate in some way. I'm not exactly your average "little ol' lady in tennis shoes" but I'm darn close and live alone.
I did talk to the credit card folks for the card where they charged purchases at gas stations and what they did is sooo wierd.
They charged $50 gas at one station, then went to another station where there are two different authorization charges of $1 (I am assuming they had 2 vehicles and filled them up with gas), but they also made two purchases there, one for 10 cents and one for 11 cents, again I assume they were trying the card to see if it worked, and then there as a third place they went to and that had $1 authorization fee on it. The credit card company doesn't have the transactions to show how much was charged when they did the authorization thingy.
My cell phone has charges on it where they called 5 different numbers so from the gas transactions, I'd bet at least 3-4 of their friends benefitted at the gas station. They also called the 800 number for Best Buy. Again I am speculating but I'd bet they called to get the credit limits/balances and I guess I'm lucky they didn't go off and charge a large purchase at Best Buy.
I firmly believe in what goes around, comes around so they'll get theirs one of these days.

If you still want to call, and of course they have your real address, maybe you could ask a friend with a P. O. box or a mailbox at a private place to let you use it for them to mail it to. Or maybe they could mail it to the police station. Just mentioning the police might make them mail it to the POB. I guess I'm just not a person who's afraid. Or maybe I don't have an active imagination for what could happen.

My experience with thieves is that items that are not of value to them such as cash, credit cards and I understand these days drivers' licenses, get dumped ASAP. Your phone was useful to them, your purse was not. Once the cards are shut down they will be trashed, once the phone is turned off it may end up on eBay, your license may be sold to someone else so as soon as you can, replace it. Anything else was probably dumped in a dumpster somewhere.

Sandra - I am 70 years old, 5'2", 130 lbs. and live alone and, yes, I am afraid of what might happen if I push these people. When they stole my bag, they got a whole lot of information about me which includes my address, age, etc. Now if they have no compunction about using my cards, what makes you think they might not consider violence? And if I call their friends, those people probably benefitted from the use of the credit card to purchase gas as it appears from what my cc company told me, there are probably going to be at least 4 charges made for gas purchases. My cell phone records reflect that they called 5 different numbers so those are probably the buddies who shared in the wealth.
A few months ago my daughter was at the gym and thought she had locked her purse in her locker but the lock evidently didn't catch. Someone stole her wallet and they did the exact same thing with her credit cards. Called all their friends and bought gas. She had 4 gas purchases before the card was blocked. They had also gotten her cell phone and used it to call their friends. My son-in-law was angry and called two of the numbers and raised heck and they raised heck right back. They also claimed they knew nothing and the calls made to their phones were wrong numbers.
Dumb me, I wasn't worried so much about this card as I had recently made a big purchase on it so it was maxed out. I figured that it would be declined if anyone tried to use it. Well, apparently that's not true as I have now found out.

NO NO, do not call any of those phone numbers. You should be afraid, that is a reasonable response. I am sure the police will tell you the same. Did you make a police report yet? What did the bank say? If you can show proof that it was stolen they should offer at least some reimbursement. What about homeowner's or renter's insurance? You will need a police report for all of it.

if you are worried about any sort of retaliation/further theft your only option is to move or call the police... simple as that...

the only way they are going to get caught is if you turn the information over... so if you are willing to let thieves roam free that's your call there...

in any case get some stronger locks or a video surveillance system if you are really concerned...

plmccut, did you contact the police or not?

I am going to file a police report but have been acquiring the necessary info. before I go in to do that. Also been spending my time closing checking account, various cards, direct deposits, house locks, etc., etc., etc.
I don't believe the police will do anything about it as they have much bigger fish to fry.

Unfortunately, some police departments as well as some venues have no reason to care. Some of you know a little about our experiences with our local police, having asked why I was doing my own police work after my purse was stolen. Having our teenaged son investigate and solve a breakin was quite an experience. He didn't tell us he was doing it. My husband has sued the police department (several entities have to be sued first to get to them) over the report for a car wreck (caused by a local police officer). The result was that the lawyers shook hands.

I'm sorry that happened to you. 9 years ago my car was stolen. My purse wasn't inside but all my tax returns containing my social security number, address, income, etc was in my car ( we were in the process of adopting our child).

Luckily they weren't smart enough to do anything with that info but it was still very scary. I felt so violated.

Definitely get a police report and talk to the casino and even Home Depot to have them help ID the person who took your purse. If you want to call your cell, let the thief know the poice are involved, that they've tracked their (general?) location through the phone, and the casino and Home Depot are cooperating with identifying them but if they have someone drop off all your items to the casino lost and found, a certain police station, a local library, or somewhere neutral, you will not proceed with the charges against them, that all you want is your stuff back.

Will it work? I don't know. Don't encourage them come to your home. It could cause them to try to hurt you. Actually, the above could also, so you really have to consider how much risk you're willing to take.

It might be successful. I had my wallet either drop out of my purse at someone's house during a New Year's party or it was stolen. I don't know which. A few days later, my wallet was dropped off in my mailbox with all my ID and everything but the cash. That was gone. I would guess if it was the owners who found my wallet, they would've been upfront about it when they returned it. Since it was in my mailbox and I was home, I'm guessing the thief had at least a little conscious.