Debit Card Scammer Defeated By Hair Loss

Unusual hairstyles are known to make a person more distinctive, but the case of an American debit card scammer proves that hair loss can also make someone stand out from the crowd.

The case of the balding debit card thief

The story begins in the American state of California, where a woman from Petaluma reported that her debit card had been stolen before being used to pay for goods at a local Target store. When the police came to investigate they noticed something distinctive on the CCTV footage: the female suspect had a clear case of pattern baldness.

The official police report even notes that the woman seen using the stolen card “definitely showed a high hairline, like a pattern of balding or something”. Despite this observation, there was little additional information that the police could act upon.

A lucky break

The same officer reviewing the debit card case was then asked to investigate another case at a different store in the same shopping centre. To his great surprise, the balding woman working behind the counter was the same one caught on camera using the stolen debit card.

The unusual female hair loss that attracted so much attention from officers reviewing CCTV footage, was the same factor that first drew the investigating officer’s attention in store. The woman was later questioned and arrested on suspicion of burglary and theft.

An avoidable arrest?

It is wrong to condone crime, or any attempts to conceal it, but the female debit card thief clearly demonstrates the problems faced by women affected by pattern balding. Hair loss and receding hairlines are particularly distinctive in women, often leading to unwanted attention from other people.

Some women can feel self-conscious about ‘standing out’ and will try various measures to disguise their hair loss. Common techniques include wearing hats or having hair extensions fitted. Unfortunately some of these techniques especially those which pull on the hair shafts, causing Traction Alopecia can actually increase hair loss, making any bald patches larger and more noticeable.

In the case of the Petaluma card thief however, hair loss came to the assistance of the local police, doing the general public a favour by removing a criminal from the streets.