Two thieves were thwarted after they made the mistake of giving the victim their cell phone number, the victim told NBC 7.
Marissa Peters said she was shopping at Albertsons on 14th and Market streets in East Village Monday.
Peters said two women and a child came up to her in the aisle.
"The one woman asked me if I could call her phone because she couldn't find it," said Peters. "I called it three times to try to help her. But I noticed she wasn't looking for it as I was calling."
Surveillance cameras caught the ordeal.
The video shows a woman and a child approaching Peters in the store, while her purse was in a shopping cart.
Peters appears to be on the phone and looks away for a moment as the woman reaches into her purse and takes what appears to be her wallet. The woman then takes off with the child.
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"It happened just like that when she was so close to me," said Peters. "I watched the video back and thought it was unbelievable."
Peters said she didn't notice her wallet was missing until she went to a self-checkout station in the store. She looked through all the aisles and finally checked her mobile banking account.
"I noticed my debit card had been used in three separate stores nearby, including the Golden Hill Market."
Peters decided to call the number that the suspected thieves had given her. She said to her surprise, the woman answered.
"I said, 'I'm not sure who this is but a woman just asked to use my phone in the store,' the woman said to me, 'Yeah, that was me,'" recalled Peters. "That's when I told her if you don't return my wallet, I'm giving your number to police."
Peters said the woman dropped her wallet in a nearby bush and took off. She added she has the woman's license plate number, which she has given to police.
Peters filed a police report and plans to press charges.
