Police Thursday sought public help to identify a woman who defrauded a Burbank woman out of more than $40,000 by stealing personal identifying information and opening credit card accounts without the victim’s knowledge.
Police circulated photos of the suspect, described as white, 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 10 inches tall, with a heavy-set build and dark hair.
“The suspect … obtained the victim’s personal identifying information by unknown means in March … (and) she opened credit card accounts with Bloomingdale’s and Sport Chalet,” Burbank police Sgt. Claudio Losacco said.
On April 1, the woman bought a combined $12,000 worth of items from the Pasadena Apple Store, the Nordstrom at the Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance, and the La Canada Sports Chalet using the victim’s stolen credit line, Losacco said.
“The purchase at Nordstrom included a $3,600 Burberry handbag and wallet,” Losacco said.
The following day, she bought a $2,600 Burberry handbag and wallet from the Bloomingdale’s in Beverly Hills. She then returned all the Burberry merchandise in exchange for store credit, which she used to purchase other items from a Bloomingdale’s in the South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, Losacco said.
She also obtained a new debit card in the victim’s name “by successfully impersonating her at a Chase Bank branch,” Losacco said.
“She was able to cash several counterfeit checks and make ATM withdrawals totaling over $30,000 using the fraudulently obtained debit card at banks in La Canada, Tujunga, Glendale and Burbank,” Losacco said.
Anyone with information on the identity of the suspect was urged to call Detective Mark Stohl at (818) 238-3272, or Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS.
— Wire reports