Woman warns about thieves after someone steals her billfold out - Cincinnati News, Weather, Sports from FOX19 NOW-WXIX

With the holiday season now underway, police believe thieves are snatching purses and stealing wallets more and more often.

A Boone County woman said she was shopping at a northern Kentucky grocery store recently when someone grabbed her billfold out of her purse.

Becky DeAlba said she turned her head for only a second, and it was gone. It happened so fast she said she did not see who did it.

The wallet itself, DeAlba said, is more than 40 years old. She actually purchased it around the time her daughter was born.

There were family photographs and other irreplaceable items inside of it.

 "Oh it was devastating. It was just devastating," DeAlba said. "Just be careful because I lost $300, but the money was not the important thing to me, it was the treasures I had in there that I'll never be able to replace."

DeAlba reported what happened to authorities and said that she has already changed the way she handles her purse when she shops.

She is hopeful her billfold might be mailed to her or dropped off since her license was inside of it.

Police recommend keeping your belongings on you when you are out and about or suggest hiding your purse underneath items in your shopping cart.

They also said you should keep your purse zipped, and keep your eye on it at all times.

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