A woman phoned her bank after she found her cash card was missing - and discovered thieves had stolen £700.
The Colchester woman, in her 20s, last used the debit card while shopping at Sainsbury's on Sunday.
She cancelled it yesterday after she tried to use it again and found it was not in her purse. The crooks had made two transactions, spending £500 and £200.
Police warned shoppers to be vigilant.
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