Crime & Safety

Purse Swiped at Soda Bar

Thief used credit card to buy $412 worth of metrocards, according to a police report.

A woman’s purse was stolen from the back of her chair as she was sitting at Soda Bar Thursday night, and the thief charged $412 on her credit card before she was able to cancel the card, according to police reports.

The 32-year-old woman told police she was sitting at the bar of the Vanderbilt Avenue hotspot when she noticed the purse was gone at about 11 p.m. on March 24.

In the purse, which she said was worth $200, were keys and her driver’s license, plus a $399 iPhone, a $50 anthropology gift card, $120 in cash and an ATM card in addition to the credit card, which was used to at an MTA machine to buy metrocards, according to police reports.

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Thieves often use stolen credit cards to buy metrocards and then use the cards to sell turnstile swipes to subway riders, police said.

A police source noted that purses hanging from the back of chairs are stolen while women are right there quite often.

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