Criminal investigation

A World of Surveillance Doesn’t Always Help to Catch a Thief

Earlier this year, I had a beer in one of the more budget-conscious bars in the Mission district. My wallet stayed a little later than I did.

I didn’t notice that until 11 a.m. the next day, when I got a call from my bank. Hey, a helpful man in card fraud detection asked, in the last 12 hours had I been to McDonald’s twice, taken four rides with Uber, purchased a disposable phone at MetroPCS, and visited Walgreens and Target?

What followed was sadly familiar to many of us: I spent the day canceling credit cards, ordering new health insurance identification, replacing my driver’s license, and trying to remember what else, besides cash, was in my wallet.