Someone stole an item at the retail store I work at – I saw this while reviewing a video recording shortly after he left because his behavior seemed suspicious. What’s interesting is that he bought another item (one too large to fit under his shirt, I guess) using his credit card. He had driven off by the time I saw the evidence of his crime, but I of course still had the receipt from his card. It does not have his name on it (just his signature, which at a glance seemed to match his ID when I saw him open his wallet to use it, but which is hard to make out. I would have tried much harder to get his name had I known he was stealing at the time).
The police took down this information and copied the numbers on the receipt. Does anybody know how likely it is that they can actually find this lowlife with that info? I imagine it must be possible for law enforcement if not for your average citizen/business. Unless he stole someone else’s ID that looked kinda like him, copied that person’s signature well enough to stand up to a casual glance, AND stole that person’s credit card (or some “feasible” combination thereof), something on that receipt must allow for tracking it back to its owner (the thief), right?
I’d have no problem doing the work myself to find him and call the cops on him if it was only a matter of perseverance, but I’m assuming it’d be nearly impossible without being in law enforcement. I just want to know that this guy can be caught and brought to justice, even if it’s just for “petty theft.”
So, what are my chances of seeing this guy in lockup over the holiday weekend? What can and can’t be done either by law enforcement or by the general public to locate a criminal using the info on a credit card receipt?
If it was his card the number is all law enforcement needs to track him.
They will be able to track the owner of the credit card. Now if that person is not the same person who stole from the store there isn’t much that can be done. Likely the credit card was stolen too so there will not be much that can be done but if the thief was stupid and actually used his own credit card they just may get lucky.
Assuming that he owns the credit card in his name and the address on it is correct, then tracking him down would be a piece of cake for the police- simply subpoena the records from the bank and you’re done.
If he stole it or used a false name, then it’s not as easy, but it might still be possible to find him by tracking his purchases and the like. They might then get an idea as to where he’s operating, catch him on cameras, or see if he’s used it to make an order to his house.
Whether or not the police are likely to go to that effort for a small theft is another matter, but yes, it is possible in principle.
It’s a bit harder for the general public to do this, as you can’t get the bank records without a warrant (which the public can’t get), and unlike some records, it’s a criminal offence to trick a bank into giving the details up.