and yet, people will still leave their vehicles unlocked...

hey tis the season to be jolly sounds like santa is broke and mrs claus is picking up the tab.. Just kidding hope the perp gets what is coming to her. Hopefully the victoms got their affairs in order so they don't have alot of problems with credit issues. Hampden Pd will get it done good group of people.

I didn't see any mention of a reward. That might help someones' memory.

So in the future, it would be safe to say that if documentation with your address is stolen from your vehicle during a break, it might be a wise idea to lay in wait for the b@sterds to show up to rob your home.

You would think that since it is almost 2010 that places would have more quality survelliance equipment. How can anyone possibly make an ID off from that? Skinny white female with big sunglasses. That narrows it down.

Stores need to help by doing a better job verifying the credit card signature. Cashiers glance to be sure the card is signed, but very seldom really look. When I vacationed out of state, the stores asked to see your license also. I LOVED that.

It is rare that they check the back of my credit card when I use it. They do need to start checking better.

Very brazen person, stole the credit cards and jewelry from Sawyer Rd in Hampden, and then went to the Hampden Rite Aid with the card...what if the clerk had known the person on the card? Too bad they hadn't...that would have been priceless....

I do not sign my name on the back of my cards I write check ID and if they do not ask to see it I ask them do you want to see my ID because the back of the card is not signed, then they usually get a blank look on their face and say ok look at it quickly and give it back to me! The only place that DOES check every time is JC Penny they will take your card and compare it to your license signature, which is awesome and the way everywhere should start doing it!!!!

kinda looks like paris hilton?

joshua - if a person wants to get into a house or car, they will if they are locked or not. Show a little intelligence. You must be a conservative .... blame the victim.

Seems that now it is the holiday season, that there are more and more of these things happening. People need to use more caution at this time of year; it won't cut down on all of it, but can help to minimize these incidents. Now with all the imaging and surveillance available, it does help to catch these perpertrators of crimes easier than in previous times.

Paris declined getting a boob job, she wants to be natural...I know...

My goodness, JoshuaWS - whom ever you are. Obviously you are not schooled in the fine art of thievery - locks matter not, though it is obviously easier not to have to deal with them. Laws, rules, regulations (and even locks) are made for society's honest law-abiding citizens, not thieves.

The best thing she can do right now is CONTINUE, she will get caught. Problem is once caught, we don't have the resources necessary to ensure she won't be able to continue ......well, nothing that is within the law......

Did I hear somewhere that when a person is caught steeling in third-world countries they are relived of an appendage, as in a hand ---- does anyone know what happens the 3rd time caught?!

My momma' always told me the punishment had to fit the crime - ouch!

The police should be a bit more discreet with this type of information and not publicize the exact nature of the crime. What this article and the tv news interviews have done is simply plant the seed in a few more scheming minds. Of course, the wayward will always find a way but why help them.

Tysmom if you write see ID on the back of your credit cards they are not valid and a store could either force you to sign it or refuse the card. Merchants are also not required or allowed to ask for additional ID if your card is signed.

If you have a valid signature on the back of a credit card no merchant can force you to show any other type of ID to verify your signature. JC Penny’s is breaking their contract with Visa and MasterCard if they do ask for your DL to verify a valid signature and if SEE ID is written in place of a valid signature they are not supposed to accept the card until you sign the card in front of them.

If you don't believe me about any of this Tysmom I suggest you contact Visa and MasterCard and they will set you straight and BTW. If I found any of your credit cards that had SEE ID written on the back of them. I could give them to a female, she could sign the back of the card in front of a cashier and the cashier would accept it as it would now contain a valid signature.

I suggest you get to signing your CC’s Tysmom.

KEVIN- Thanks for your "knowledge" on credit cards but, I was actually told to do this by my credit card company!!! I have NEVER had any problems with not being able to use my cards or having any store reject them or making me sign it right in front of them and I was actually told by more than one store how smart it was because anyone can forge a signature , it is harder to look like the person whos card you stole!!! As far as your "If I found any of your credit cards that had SEE ID written on the back of them. I could give them to a female, she could sign the back of the card in front of a cashier and the cashier would accept it as it would now contain a valid signature" It would look very suspicious to write over SEE ID written in black permant marker!!! You do what you want with your cards and I will do what I want with my credit cards!!!!! So thanks again for your a$$ho&e comment but I do not need to be set straight because I am doing the smart thing and when your cards get stolen and you have to go through alot of hassle to straighten things out don't come to me for pity cause you will not get any!!!!! Also you apparently think like a criminal if you are talking about finding lost cards and giving them to one of your female friend to use, don't you know you are supposed to either turn them into the store they are from or take them to the police department to be returned to the owner- you obviously are not an honest person!!!!!!

Tysmom I doubt your CC Company told you to write SEE ID on your cards because it is against their rules. You go ahead and continue to right SEE ID and one day when a cashier rejects your card you won't be happy. Even if you have SEE ID written in permanent marker the card is not valid. If a cashier wanted to they could make you sign your name over the permanent marker to make the card valid and they CANNOT ask you for any sort of government issued ID to prove that is your valid signature so you are setting yourself up for fraud more than I am. I sign my credit cards so they are valid. You on the other hand do not.

It says on the back of almost all credit cards. NOT VALID UNLESS SIGNED

Source: http://consumerist.com/2008/07/10-things-you-might-not-know-about-your-credit-card.html

Here's VISA's official statement on "See ID":

“Some customers write ?See ID? or ?Ask for ID? in the signature panel, thinking that this is a deterrent against fraud or forgery; that is, if their signature is not on the card, a fraudster will not be able to forge it. In reality, criminals don?t take the time to practice signatures: they use cards as quickly as possible after a theft and prior to the accounts being blocked. They are actually counting on you not to look at the back of the card and compare signatures?they may even have access to counterfeit identification with a signature in their own handwriting. ?See ID? or ?Ask for ID? is not a valid substitute for a signature. The customer must sign the card in your presence, as stated above.

/end source

BTW, when you show the idiot clerck at JC Penny's your DL they now have access to other private information. You think you are being smart but sadly you are not.

What does she have on her head?

I've also been asked to produce a drivers license when using a credit card... especially out of state.

Kevin- You are an idiot and need to mind your own business, I DO NOT CARE WHAT YOU THINK! I would only be concerned about yourself not others we do not need you to worry about us! I am a big girl and can take care of myself, and my credit card company DID tell me to do this so lets just agree to disagree because I no longer want to have any further conversation with you because you are a moron!!!!!!

Amazed if you have a valid signature on the back of your CC no merchant can require you to show another form of government issued ID. In some states it is illegal for them to ask for you to do so.

Tysmom you are amusing. You are calling me an idiot and a moron but you walk around with credit cards that are not valid and you expose more of your personal information to strangers via showing them your driver’s license but I'm the idiot and moron. One day you will be told your CC is not valid from a merchant because you have SEE ID written on the back instead of a valid signature. Have you looked on the back of your cards lately? I dare you to do so, pull out a card. Turn it around what does it say on the back in capital letters?

AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE - NOT VAILD UNLESS SIGNED

I think Kevin may be the person in the photo. Thats why he is so bent on having the cards signed!

Randy68 I'm Kevin_of_Bangor not Kevin_the_Crossdresser but thanks for the laugh and sign your credit cards people.

Hey Genius! Signature really doesn't matter when you have "self-serve" checkouts and self scan machines. Let the paranoia continue!

I work behind a cash register all day and see dozens of cards with "CID" written on the back. They are NOT in fact valid. I called our card-processing company as well as two major banks and all 3 say no. The card must be signed by the holder, or the retailer has the right to refuse the card, ID or no ID.

LOL..Look at her, eyes and face fairly obscured, she's a pro. Just looking at the photo,she knows there is a camera and took steps to prevent a positive ID. My bet is she's long gone and using someone elses cards now.

US Post Office would not take my CC that had said See ID on it.

I was curious about this "See ID' debate so I looked it up and found this:

Chris Monteiro, spokesman for MasterCard, says, "Technically, a MasterCard is not valid unless signed by the authorized cardholder. If a person has not signed his card, the merchant technically should not complete the transaction." The merchant can only complete the transaction on an unsigned card if the cardholder signs the card in front of the employee and then produces valid identification proving their identity, Monteiro says. The cardholder then has nothing to gain by refusing to write anything but his signature on the signature panel.

Visa's policy is nearly identical to MasterCard's. Visa covers this topic in its "Rules for Merchants" handbook. There is a section entitled "See ID," which says: "See ID or Check for ID is not a valid substitute for a signature. The customer must sign the card, in your presence." And if the customer refuses? "A refusal to sign means the card is still invalid and cannot be accepted.

Just sign the stupid cards already and keep them with you when you go out of your house. Is it really that difficult? If you know that someone has taken them cancel them and notify police. I work at a store where customers swipe their own cards and we never get to see the signatures at all.