An elderly woman in Florida is accused of stealing from older men by acting like she knew them. She would then give them a hug while pickpocketing them, taking their credit cards and wallets, authorities say.
“The Hugging Bandit,” is what police had started calling Kathy Stevens. She is now being held in the Pinellas County Jail on over twelve charges.
The 65-year-old has been accused of locating elderly men outside of stores. While pretending to know them, she would give an unsolicited hug, and then swipe items from their pockets.
One victim disclosed that after Stevens hugged him, he noticed that one of his credit cards was not in his wallet. He had just purchased something with the card, and the wallet was in a manner that was “easily accessible.”
Police say that Stevens purchased items close to $1,000 on the stolen credit card.
Additionally, she has been suspected of stealing from four other individuals, in the Clearwater vicinity, in the same way.
