'Shop Less' Says Suspected Wallet Thief In Handwritten Note To Victim

TORRANCE (CBSLA.com) — A young mother who lost her wallet while shopping over the weekend got the surprise of her life when she opened her mailbox.

That's because the person who picked up Rachel Maestri's wallet mailed her back her credit cards and driver's license inside a manila envelope, and included a handwritten note on a greeting card.

"I started reading this letter and I'm like, 'You've got to be kidding me,' " she said.

The suspected thief wrote "shop less, enjoy more, don't keep too much cash on your wallet, keep your wallet safe."

The person also explained "they needed the money more than I did so they were keeping the money and a Target gift card," Maestri said. "Basically anything that couldn't incriminate them, they
kept."

That included Maestri's Louis Vuitton designer wallet, which was a Christmas gift from her mother.

Inside the wallet was $350 in cash and business cards, including a punch card to a local nail salon, which the person mentioned as well, writing at the bottom of the note: "p.s. do your own nails.
Stop splurging your money & save. – xoxo."

"It was violated. It was violated to have somebody act like they know me and somebody who's stealing thousands of dollars' worth of stuff to tell me that I'm too materialistic," she said.

Maestri says the envelope was postmarked just a few hours after she lost her wallet in a Smart & Final in Torrance.

She's concerned now that the person, who didn't hesitate to make the crime so personal, has her home address.

"Security cameras are going up and a better alarm system is being installed, that's for sure," she said.

An officer says he's never heard of a thief sending a note quite like this one.

Torrance police are investigating.