Imagine you are on the Metro in a foreign country, preparing to spend a delightful evening exploring the city and its treasures. Suddenly you are informed that someone has unzipped your purse and taken your wallet. You didn't feel anything! Now you are in a strange city with no money or credit cards. Imagine how long it will take to cancel your credit cards from overseas. Will someone steal your identity? Did the thief get your passport? In just a few seconds a pickpocket has ruined your vacation.

This happened to me in Prague. I decided to invent a device that would warn me when someone was trying to open my purse. It would have to be easy to operate, attractive, lightweight, and programmable, like a home burglar alarm. It should have a panic button for added security.

After discussing my idea with acquaintences, several of them told me their stories of how they were pickpocketed. One lady had her purse over her chair in a swank restaurant. As the busboy filled her water glass, he was reaching into her purse to grab her wallet. A teacher told of how her wallet was taken out of her purse that she kept in her desk drawer. Another woman was visiting her husband in the hospital. While she helped him to the bathroom, a nurse's aid came in and took her wallet out of her purse. Just recently, at the athletic club where I am a member, two women were arrested for taking wallets out of lockers. The dishwasher repairman took my mother's wallet out of her purse. Dear Abby wrote about people stealing money and valuables from purses left in a bedroom at a Christmas party. NBC's Dateline ran a segment on pickpockets and some of their diversion tactics. In fact, many people who think they lost their wallet find out later that they have been victims of pickpockets when they see unauthorized charges on their credit card statements. Most people either have been a pickpocket victim or know someone who has.

Security Advantage was formed to create TagAlarm. Put TagAlarm on your purse or bag. Connect and activate it when you want help in protecting your valuables.

While TagAlarm and Security Advantage LLC cannot guarantee that your personal property will not be tampered with, it should serve as a deterrent and warning device. TagAlarm is distributed by RIC-TRONICS, INC.