North Side Mom Says Someone Stole Her Purse And Diaper Bag, Tried To Make Fraudulent Charges

CHICAGO (CBS)-- Venous Shabahang said she was inside her condo last Thursday with her one-year-old daughter and didn't realize someone was stealing from her right outside her door.

She said she forgot to bring in her stroller from the hallway. She later realized someone had stolen her purse and diaper bag, which were sitting in the stroller.

"I never anticipated someone would steal my stuff and go use it," she said.

Shabahang said whoever stole from her tried to use her credit card.

She said her bank texted her around 12:33 p.m. after someone tried to make a $1,000 dollar purchase at a Walgreen's.

"Somehow the bank knew it wasn't me and they stopped it," she said.

Residents turned to the building's security cameras to try to find the thief.

The video shows a woman holding bags who had been waiting outside walk into the building while one of Shabahang's neighbors walks out around 10:50 a.m. No one in the building knows who the woman is, according to the president of the condo association.

"My neighbor asked who she was, and she said she was a dog walker," Shabahang said.

That neighbor tells CBS 2 there are plenty of dog walkers coming in and out of the building, so she thought nothing of it at the time.

The surveillance video shows the woman walking around the building and parking garage for about 15 minutes. The woman appears to walk into the area where the purse and diaper bag were, which is not shown on camera. When she appears, she has a bigger, pink bag around her shoulder.

Shabahang believes the woman stuffed her purse and diaper bag inside the pink bag, which the alleged thief may have already had with her.

"A diaper bag is a diaper bag, but it's not about that," she said. "It's my child's diaper bag."

Chicago police have a copy of the video. They have not released any information on a suspect.