Purse/identity thefts at Mission bars continue

Another one happened at the Make-Out Room this evening. The victim had her purse right next to her, hanging on a hook with a jacket over it. Next thing she knows, the jacket is on the floor and the purse is gone. She looks for a it for a bit, reports it to the staff, goes home, starts canceling her cards. Already there is illicit activity on her accounts. Within minutes of the theft!

This ring is speedy, people. Keep your stuff close. Tell your friends.

40 Responses to “Purse/identity thefts at Mission bars continue”

  1. derek says:

    the same thing happened to a friend and i at the latin american club. we got our jackets and an iphone taken. the items were right next to us, we were sitting with them the whole time and we were not drunk. honestly we should set up a sting of sorts. it’s clobberin time.

  2. Heather says:

    Like I said before, your jacket is not a safe. People can actually move it and look under it.

    You have to keep your purse on your person. Never hang it, unless you are sitting at the bar and it is hanging right in front of your seat. It’s frustrating that people keep making things so easy for identity thieves.

    I may come off as an OCD nerd, but I always make sure part of my purse is actually touching me, whether it is on my lap or resting against my leg. This way I would know immediately if someone tried to grab it. Many of my friends have had their purses stolen, but it has never happened to me, because I plan for it.

    • Cosmic Amanda says:

      I always do the same thing. When I’m seated at a bar, my purse is warming my lap. A large purse also hides your shame of a belly from eating too many burritos.

  3. AngryYoungMan says:

    OK, ladies, try buying clothes with pockets so you don’t have to carry a purse. What? Not many clothes like that?

    They make what you buy. As sensible men never buy clothes without pockets, they make mens’ clothes with pockets.

    When women start valuing practicality over perceived appearance, then pockets will appear on womens’ clothes, too!

  4. thela says:

    this has been happening in the Mission and in bars since before you all were born. This is why god invented pockets.

  5. Mello McGee says:

    Dear Allan,
    Thank you for not including more of your racist comments about European men this time. I’m just now getting over my seething righteous indignation at your previous post on this matter.
    Regards,
    Mello

  6. Eugenia says:

    Is it time to bring back the fanny pack?

  7. Mello McGee says:

    My goodness! I was pretty sure the “I’m just now getting over my seething righteous indignation” part was enough to signify my level of seriousness, but I’ll obviously have to try MUCH harder next time.

    Just to be clear though, since I failed ‘Basic Vocabulary 101′, does that mean that I have to repeat it before I can take ‘When to Get the ACLU Involved 304′?

    • Herr Doktor Professor Deth Vegetable says:

      I’m not sure, ever since I failed Intro to Sarcasm 101, I’ve had my class assignment priveleges suspended.

  8. Karina says:

    YO!
    To all the folks with the brilliant advice.

    One of the recent purse snatch-ings happened to me and just so you know my bag was hanging on a hook directly between my legs,(not next to me , or on a chair close by me), with my sweatshirt and jacket OVER IT so it was invisible. I was also touching it, either by having it on my lap or with my legs the majority of the evening. Checking with my body that it was there all the time.
    I’m insanely anal and careful about my stuff. I’ve lived in 3rd world countries( where if you lose your passport, you could be stuck there for years), and in really bad ‘hoods for most of my life. I was mugged in the mission by my house in the 90′s at gunpoint by gang kids etc etc….so i know how to protect my things and act in any area i live in. So it’s not totally fair to say people are making it easy for thieves. Some of these recent thefts are not about taking advantage of lame bridge and tunnel ( or newly Marina-transplants-to the-Mission) drunk sorority chicks dancing around their handbags and being stupid. Noone was drunk when it happened to me, i was totally aware of my bag’s whereabouts and it was not an easy thing to pull off. She moved underneath me as i was there and removed it literally as i looked the other way for one minute. On Indian and Morrocan trains they cut your clothes with a razor and take your passport or money out from underneath your shirt/pants as you are looking out the window. That’s the kinda shit i have been made to be careful of. Real thieves! And i gotta say, this lady was slick!

    Sometimes people are really good at what they do and very sly.
    I hope it doesn’t happen to you, ‘cos it’s a fucking pain in the ass to deal with, yet that’s part of living in any city. Bikes getting stolen etc.. I’ll say it hasn’t happened before to me and never thought it would happen to me. I use pockets for my stuff often. Happened to have a bag with me that night. Shit happens even if you think you’re too smart (or street smart) to let it happen to you.

    Thanks Mission mission for telling people – it’s just good to know. Just be way more aware then you have been in the past is all, these folks are good. The MOR and other bars have been dealing with this since they opened but it’s on the rise again right now, so – fucking heads up!

  9. Bonnie says:

    Indeed. My iphone was taken from my purse Friday night (8/26) at the Latin American Club. Same situation, had it hanging on the bar hook, alas – open. Thankfully I did not have anything else in my purse besides the iphone. Ladies! Keep your purses in sight!

  10. Tiny Tim says:

    Ladies:
    Use a small, very light purse with snap or zipper enclosure that is meant to be slung over your shoulder and across your body. Hipstah Academy of Art graduates running hipstah clothing stores on Valencia: produce/sell said purses/bags and thereby make them hip again.

  11. Sofia says:

    Personally, I never go out with my full purse/entire wallet out with me (too much important stuff in there). I always transfer my compact, lipstick, gloss and ID, phone and cash into a small handbag. This way, if it gets stolen, they ain’t getting much from me. Though it’s never happened, I’m always ready. And also, I always keep it on my person to lessen the chances of clever people getting my stuff!

  12. So why would any one go out with their belongings in a purse? Really, I’m curious. As a man, I have no trouble with going out with my belongings in my front pockets, where they are more-or-less invulnerable. So why?

    • Herr Doktor Professor Deth Vegetable says:

      If I go out for drinks on my way home from work I’ll generally have courier bag with me, and I’ve never had any trouble. But I think I’m also pretty low on a thief’s “worth it” scale.

  13. nosympathybartender says:

    with particular regard to the makeout room…THERE IS A COAT CHECK FOR $2!!! you use it. keep your shit.

  14. Johnny says:

    For Makeout and Latin, you should watch out for a tall, insane, bipolar black guy named ray who is a big time thief. That’s all I can say about these places and , I guess maybe talk to the owner about your stuff.

  15. the Native says:

    Ironically this sounds like a tired old N00b situation. What is this site? “Learn from our Mistakes: How To Note Be A Naive Idiot In The City (like us) for Dummies”?

    Good job “bro’s”!

    • GG says:

      Just curious, for those of you have lived in other cities, is SF the only one that has this sub-group of people who claim their “native” status like it matters? This is like the third comment of this nature I’ve run across lately. Just wondering if, for example, Chicago has the same old dipshits bragging about how they were BORN IN CHICAGO, or do we just get lucky here in SF?

      For the record, I’m always glad to have pleasant people from faraway lands settling in our fair city, if only because often they eventually move back home, and then I have a place to stay when I’m visiting Minnesota!

      • Sometimes you see “California born and bred”, but I had not previously noticed it in Kansas, Los Angeles, Detroit, or Toronto, where I once lived in bygone times.

        • Chalkman says:

          that’s because Kansas, Detroit or Toronto don’t have a bunch of people moving to them then complaining about things, LA has the people moving to it, but people don’t talk to each other in LA, except by phone….

      • Joe Wiley says:

        Deal with it piss ant.

  16. k-mack says:

    brockets ladies. brockets. i sew a little pocket into my bra to store money and id. no one is gonna steal that shit there unless you are letting everyone feel you up. if youre boobs are above a b cup- you can also make another one for your phone. or keep a case on your phone and store in the side of your bra. ive been doing it for years after growing up in philly and getting regularly jacked. keep lame shit in your purse you wont miss and rad stuff in the bra. works every time.

    also dont put your phone in your bra without a cover or fabric case of sorts. i had a ton of fun in the sprint store figuring out my phones were shorting out from boob sweat. and no, i dont have profusely sweaty boobs. or giant boobs you can hide the world in.

  17. mikey p says:

    a purse snatcher was caught last week or weekend at beauty bar…someone took her pic and its posted on the door or wall.

    she turned out to be the same chick who nabbed my friend’s purse at phonebooth a couple years back.

  18. Krissy Q says:

    This almost happened to me at the Elbo Room a month ago. I was sitting in one of the booths while my boyfriend was outside talking to some friends and i had his messenger bag underneath the table, on the floor infront of me. The booths there are not back to back, they are separated about 3 feet apart with a little bench thing in between them. I noticed this older black lady sit down by herself directly behind me. I thought it was weird she didnt have a drink, wasnt with anyone and chose that spot out of the entire bar. About 20 minutes later I saw her walking out of the bar, I happened to look down and notice my boyfriend’s bag had been pulled out from under me and was now behind my bench laying open behind our booth. I grabbed it, ran outside before she could leave and had my boyfriend look through it to see if anything was missing. Thankfully he didnt have anything of value in there so nothing was gone but I was still totally pissed off and felt completely violated. So I just watched her walk across the street, get into her car and leave. Fuck thieves.