We’re so used to witnessing the theft of our money by tracking bank statements online or fielding phone calls from our credit card issuers over potentially bogus charges, but as it turns out, there are still real-life vigilantes taking their property loss into their own hands in real time. A Brooklyn woman found her wallet had gone missing while shopping in Manhattan and soon embarked on a personal reconnaissance mission to get it back.

According to Vos Iz Neias?, a 24-year-old woman realized her wallet was gone while she was shopping at Zara. She figured, as many of us do, that perhaps she’d left it at the office and headed back there to grab it.

But when she got off the train, Chase alerted her that a $211 charge had been made on her debit card at an Urban Outfitters. She happened to remember a new store had opened up recently, and headed over there to see what she could dig up on the thief.

Cashiers there didn’t remember any large purchases or suspect customers, so she walked out onto the street hoping to somehow spot the thief on her own. A long shot, when you consider that just about anyone could look like they’ve maybe swiped a wallet recently.

She spotted a Best Buy a block away and was seized by an instinct to walk in. Inside the store there happened to be a woman with an Urban Outfitters shopping bag, who was buying a cell phone. Could it be? Was it she? The woman got closer and saw her own name on the credit card being handed to the cashier. Boom.

“I started yelling at her,” said the woman. “At first she denied that the card was mine, but then she started yelling at me. She started running away towards the back of the store, but I ran after her, calling for security. She started throwing the merchandise from Urban Outfitters at me, then some cash, then my wallet, screaming ‘here is your stuff back, it is just a mix-up.’ ”

A pretty intense scene, especially considering the card had just gone missing earlier that day. And really, who runs into the person who’s stolen from them on a hunch — and is actually right?

Police questioned both women to verify what exactly was going on, and ended up arresting the suspect on charges of grand larceny, and possession of stolen goods.

“The police were amazed that I got everything back,” said the woman. “One of the officers jokingly handed me his shield and thanked me for doing his job.”

*Thanks for the tip, D.G.!

Brooklyn Orthodox Woman Tracks Down Stolen Credit Card, Nabs Thief Redhanded [Vos Iz Neias?]

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