I am all of a twitter

Meant to say sorry about that and hope you are feeling steadier.

Perhaps go back and look around where they were. They might have taken any cash and thrown the handbag and the rest of its contents in a bin.

whitewave that's awful and it does make you feel odd, not had my bag stolen but been burgled, it does sound like it was organised.

What a dreadful thing to happen, I remember how awful it felt to lose my purse can only imagine how you are feeling..

I hardly ever carry a handbag these days , just my phone keys and purse if its needed in a pocket I do a lot of walking alone and was fearful of someone snatching my bag so go into the habit of not using one.

I hope you manage to put it behind you at a later stage and nothing untoward happens regarding your cards etc now that you have stopped them all..

whitewave what a shock, you would think it would be safe in the boot.

And you would think that somewhere nice like a country park would be safe.
Have another

It is the deviousness of it and the way it shakes your faith in human nature that is so upsetting - so much more than any material loss. No wonder you are feeling wobbly - I am so sorry that this has happened to you.

How horrid, Whitewave. We go to a local country park and there are signs up saying beware of thieves etc, but somehow we are lulled and conditioned into thinking countryside=safe and city=dangerous, and that, coupled with the thieves being an apparently respectable family somehow makes it worse.
I hope the police manage to catch up with them and stop them doing it to many more people.

eloethan no my faith in the human race has not been dimmed! Just let me get hold of the bastards and give them a hefty kick up the rear! They a big lecture about the way they are bringing up their children.

Oh I think it is the wine talking sorry about the language

Sorry to hear about your bag being stolen whitewave - a particularly nasty little trick.

I've been caught quite a few times - stolen handbags, purses, bank cards at cash machines, etc. etc. I'm told I should be more careful but I find it difficult to be vigilant all the time.

When my handbag was stolen in a cafe near Hampstead Heath some years ago, one of the worst parts was thinking afterwards about who else had been in the cafe and mulling over in my mind which of them might have been the thief.

In your case I should imagine the fact that a friendly interaction with a normal looking family had turned out to be a scam was particularly upsetting and disorientating.

I hope you are soon back to normal and can put this unpleasant incident behind you. It can - at least temporarily - knock your trust in other people and damage your peace of mind, so I think it's important to focus on the fact that the vast majority of people are honest and decent.

I started posting then stopped to eat dinner. Hope you've poured your second glass.

How horrible whitewave , I'm not surprised that you are upset and wobbly.

Another scam, that we get warned about in the Algarve, is when you take your shopping back to the car in a supermarket car park. Apparently women frequently put their handbags on the driver's seat before putting away the shopping. That is when someone approaches you, holding a map and asking for directions. Whilst you are giving the directions their accomplice takes the handbag and when you turn back to the car, they jump into the accomplice's car and drive away at high speed.

Feeling less wobbly - had a very nice glass of wine and considering another not a bit hungry so may have a bit of weight loss- every cloud---

The shock is enough to make anyone wobbly, sickening and very upsetting.
I suspect it'll take a while to get over it x

Very upsetting

How awful whitewave, salutary lesson to everyone.
and let's hope they catch the b......ds

It is surprising how wobbly it make s you feel I wonder why as nothing physical happened.

That's terrible, whitewave - and so shocking that it seemed to be an organised family operation, not a busy town centre bag-snatch.

I do hope you recover your calm soon, what an unpleasant experience! or

There was a video on Facebook a few months ago with exactly this trick being demonstrated. So easy to fall for it, especially when the people conning you are a 'family'. Somehow that makes them seem trustworthy. So sorry you got caught - I hope lots of people on GN read this and take heed of the warning.

How awful for you, such a shock. x

Yes police have been informed so has bank, DVLA, AA, MUMS BANK, M&S CREDIT CARD, have to also phone bus pass people and Guardian voucher line as it was in an envelope ready to post worth over £100 - plus mobile.

Unbelievable parked in a country car park near a river and a family were stood in the car park I put on wellies and put my handbag in the boot - got dog out of the car and the husband approached my DH and asked him to show him the way to the river so Dh walked to a hedge near the car and pointed the way the chap kept on saying is that right where else can we go etc. I got bored so wondered off with the dog, eventually DH appeared and off we went - I looked back a couple of times and thought it odd that they hadn't appeared but thought no more of it. Got back to the car park after 1hr and DH said blimey they didn't stay long. Went to put boots back in boot and lo and behold!!!!

Oh heck. Are we allowed to ask how it happened?

Have you got someone with you? Tea and lots of sugar?

I was very surprised just how many gransnetters said that they had had their bags stolen on the NanKate thread recently.

Take care.

How horrid for you! I hope it doesn't cause too many problems.

So sorry whitewave. How awful. What a shock.

Trust you've notified the police?

Sorry, I meant I hope you didn't have those things in the stolen handbag!