Southlake officials are using a little humor to encourage the public to help identify a credit card fraudster.
The Southlake Department of Public Safety tweeted on August 23 that it was searching for a woman who allegedly purchased thousands of dollars worth of electronic products with stolen credit cards. Because of the woman’s distinctive clothing — a black pantsuit, large black hat, and platform sandals — the poster dubbed the woman a “villainous vixen.”
The suspect, who was caught on security cameras at an Apple store, was described as a white woman with black hair, possibly in her mid-30s, carrying a large black purse, and “dressed for thefts.” The media posts described her clothing as “Cruella de Vil/Bellatrix Lestrange/Cersei Lannister-like attire.”
According to Southlake DPS, the woman or an accomplice accessed an unlocked vehicle parked at Bob Jones Park during an evening soccer practice on August 1. Four credit cards were reportedly stolen from the console of the vehicle.
At 7:17 p.m., the victim began receiving fraud alerts by text indicating that the credit cards were being used at a nearby Apple store.
“The victim received those fraud alerts because, like AC/DC, our bad girl was Back in Black showing up for her second Southlake appearance at Town Square’s Apple Store at 260 Grand Avenue,” wrote the Southlake DPS on social media.
The “villainous vixen” then reportedly attempted to purchase five iPhone 14 Pro Max phones and one more unknown product using one of the stolen credit cards, but the Chase Bank card was declined.
“Probably knowing her international jet filled with henchmen was ready to take off nearby, she quickly split the purchases of the iPhones onto [the] other stolen cards, spreading out $8,219.44 through credit card roulette,” said the Southlake DPS.
She then departed the store with these items. The suspect, whom the department compared to the animated character Carmen Sandiego and Moira Rose on Schitt’s Creek, has not yet been identified.
Anyone with information about “FeDora the Malefactor-a” is encouraged to contact DPS crime analyst Diana Smith at 817-748-8915 or [email protected].
Though Southlake DPS approached the situation with a sense of humor, crime remains a serious issue in the metroplex. For instance, in Dallas, over 17,500 larceny or theft offenses have been reported in 2023 as of August 23, 8,000 of which were thefts from motor vehicles. On top of that, more than 3,800 reports of burglary or breaking and entering, as well as more than 1,500 reports of robbery were logged in the same period.
Complicating matters is a shortage of police officers in the Dallas Police Department. While an analysis estimated that a city of Dallas’ size would require 4,000 officers to be adequately policed, the City employs only around 3,100. Some cities, like Fort Worth, have supplemented their patrols with dedicated police units and even private security, especially in downtown areas where crime is often frequent.
