Ashley Amezcua now knows not to be so trusting. In July, someone smashed in the windows of her car while she was with her dog at the Shelby Bottoms Dog Park. They made off with her purse which had her wallet inside.
"I knew it was happening and I hid my purse under my car seat," Amezcua said. "That wasn't enough."
Amezcua cancelled her cards and filed a police report.
"I thought my hands were kind of washed of it, I didn’t think I’d be dealing with it again," she said.
But now, six months later, she's learned the thief used two forms of ID from her wallet and duped a bank teller in Memphis into emptying out her bank accounts.
"Sure enough they had just cleaned me out two weeks before Christmas," Amezcua said.
Amezcua said she now knows she should have requested a credit freeze and asked her bank to flag her account for fraud in addition to canceling her cards. But she's also fed up with car thefts happening in public parks across Nashville.
"It kind of stinks that you’re coming here to be a part of the community and then someone is taking advantage of you," she said.
Amezcua posed the problem to the East Nashville Facebook page. She asked for small solutions she may be able to spearhead alone or with a little help.
So far, some have offered to donate security cameras or money to purchase equipment. Amezcua plans to reach out to public officials for guidance.
But for now, she hopes her story will remind others to be cautious about what you leave in your car.
