Holiday shoppers beware: thieves are on the prowl, Newport police say

Newport Beach police this week warned holiday shoppers to be on the lookout for thieves who might target them while they’re distracted by seasonal hustle and bustle.

An email from the Police Department cited a recent incident in which thieves threw cash on the ground to capture a woman’s attention so they could steal her purse.

The incident started when the woman was carrying shopping bags to her car in a Fashion Island parking lot around 5 p.m. Oct. 27. After she opened her car door and set her purse inside, a man called out to her and pointed at dollar bills scattered on the ground nearby, according to police.

She said the money wasn’t hers, but the man kept waving her over while picking up the bills. When she approached, the man threw the money to the ground and ran off, police said.

At the same time, the woman saw another person flee from the driver’s side door of her car, which was still open, according to the department.

The two quickly disappeared and the woman realized they had taken her purse with them, police said. No arrests have been made.

The holidays don’t necessarily correlate with an uptick in thefts, Newport Beach police spokeswoman Jennifer Manzella said. But the season can present more opportunities for ne’er-do-wells looking for easy targets.

“What we do see is there are more people out shopping during the holidays and they might be distracted by many other things on their mind,” she said.

Newport police asked that anyone who sees suspicious activity at local shopping centers call the department’s non-emergency line at (949) 644-3717.