TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Police are investigating whether an international pickpocket ring is targeting the Taipei MRT after a woman’s wallet was stolen during a short ride and her credit card was rapidly used overseas.

A woman surnamed Kao (高) took a 14-minute ride on the Brown Line from Nanjing Fuxing Station to Wanfang Hospital Station at 5:30 p.m. on March 11, per NOWnews. Shortly after getting off the train, she received a notification from her bank that multiple overseas transactions had been made with her credit card.

Realizing something was wrong, Kao checked her bag and discovered that her wallet, containing identification documents, credit cards, an ATM card, and NT$13,000 (US$405) in cash, was missing. She immediately reported the incident to police.

She later found that multiple purchases had been made with her credit card the same day in Saudi Arabia, totaling about NT$90,000. Including the stolen cash and other items, the total financial loss reached about NT$110,000.

After receiving the report, police and metro police formed a joint task force and reviewed surveillance footage from stations and train cars. Authorities said they have not ruled out the possibility that an international pickpocket ring stole the card and passed the information to accomplices overseas for fraudulent purchases.

Authorities said they will continue investigating the case and work to identify the suspect.