POLICE LOOK FOR MAN ACCUSED OF SWIPING WALLET AT 96TH STREET SUBWAY STATION
Police say the man shown above swiped a woman’s wallet at the 96th Street station on Sunday. The full description is below.
It was reported to police that on Sunday June 11, 2017, at approximately 1610 hours, aboard a northbound “2” train at the 96 Street station, the individual approached the 34 year-old female victim from behind and removed her wallet from her backpack. The individual then fled off the train in an unknown direction. Among the items inside her wallet were $240 in cash and her debit and credit cards.
The individual is described as a male black, 45 to 55 years old, 6’4″ to 6’5″, bald; last seen wearing a black suit and a white shirt.
Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential.
Backpack outer pockets are so vulnerable. But there is a fix: A pocket on the other side of the pack — the surface that faces your back. I once bought a backpack with this feature, and since then I have transferred this zippered pocket to other backpacks with some creative hand-stitching. Perfectly comfortable, and accessible only to you, when you remove the backpack.
I know 4 people who’ve had their wallets and iPhones stolen out of their backpacks on the train, and still can’t convince them not to use that ‘net’ pocket! Didn’t know the backpack with the inner pocket existed, but I’m going to look for it. 🙂
i got pickpocketed in the train at 96th Street a few years ago. the people working this “grift” are very skilled. one guy stood in front of me and sort of blocked my exit from the crowded train… as i panicked, thinking i would not get out in time (i didn’t think it was any sort of crime), another guy came from behind and slipped his hands into the pockets of my winter coat, where i stupidly had my wallet. live and learn.
i immediately realized it and had all my credit cards blocked within an hour. but getting all the new ones plus the drivers license was a pain.
How in the world did they get this photo…?
the police have a long list of photos of known pickpockets… the victim might have identified him.
another possibility, which seems less likely, given the photo, is that the got it at a Metrocard machine. if the get the credit cards, the best place to quickly use them is on Metrocards… the machines only ask for zip codes, and they can use them before the cards get shut off. Buy as many metrocards as possible and then sell the swipes.