MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Police are searching for a woman after she went on an apparent shopping spree at a Miami Beach boutique, but never actually paid for anything.
Miami Beach boutique owner Fabiana Allegro says she was scammed by a woman captured in surveillance video who left her store with nearly $2,000 worth of merchandise. Miami Beach police are now investigating this as a case of fraud.
“We’ve been here a little over a year and this is the first time,” said Allegro, who owns Aurora Boutique on 71st Street.
She told Local 10′s Liane Morejon the woman came in Sept. 23 wearing a hat and a black mask.
“She came in, loved a lot of the stuff, started trying on,” Allegro said.
Allegro said the woman spent two hours trying on clothes, eventually choosing to take home 38 pieces.
The grand total? Nearly $1,700.
“She said she didn’t have enough cash, but that her boyfriend was going to pay for it,” Allegro said. “So she typed in the number and it went through.”
Allegro never wrote down the credit card number or asked for ID, and days after that customer left, there was a big problem. Allegro said she was left on the hook for that shopping spree.
“Discover says when you type the number in, they are not responsible for it, so it’s my loss,” she said.
Allegro is hoping video of the woman will be the key to finding her.
“If it wasn’t for that, we would never know who this person is,” she said.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.