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This is the last time I hug an elderly stranger.
An elderly woman in Florida is facing charges after police say that while pretending to hug strangers, she pickpocketed several strangers, according to NBC News.
Clearwater Police arrested the elusive elderly woman on March 10, appropriately coined the "hugging bandit", and she was later identified as 65-year-old Kathy Stevens.
According to officers, she allegedly would approach older men outside of stores, acted as if she knew them, and then would "hug" them; if hug means to steal their wallets because Stevens would use the opportunity to swipe the victims' credit cards and cash.
There was one incident cited back in October, where the "hugging bandit" embraced her victim, reached into his back pocket, and according to the arrest affidavit, the victim told the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office that he later realized his credit card was missing from his wallet.
According to police, Stevens is thought to be connected to at least four incidents in the Clearwater area.
She's facing "more than a dozen charges from CPD and other law enforcement agencies across the Tampa Bay area," according to authorities, and is being held in Pinellas County Jail.