Woman finds a lost credit card at a Philadelphia World Cup event. The police tells her to ‘just go spend it’

A woman filming at a crowded outdoor World Cup event in Philadelphia said she found someone else’s credit card on the ground and tried to hand it over to police so they could return it to its owner. Instead of taking the card seriously, she said an officer joked with her about spending the money herself.

The woman, who posts on TikTok under the username @giannie.cx, shared a video of the entire exchange. The clip has been viewed more than 411,600 times and has received over 24,400 likes and more than 200 comments.

In the video, she holds up the card, with the card’s information blurred out, and says, “We found somebody’s card. Let’s not put the info on it so you guys can’t use it. We have to return it to their rightful owner.”

Officer jokes about spending the money instead of helping return the card

The woman then walks up to two Philadelphia police officers standing behind a metal barrier and hands the card to one of them. She tells him, “I don’t want anyone else to scan it. Is there like guest service?” A man standing with her also asks where they could find guest services.

Instead of directing her to lost and found or taking the report seriously, on-screen text shows the officer responding, “just go spend it,” and “go buy yourself like a louis bag.” The woman appears caught off guard by the comment, replying, “You’re not supposed to tell us that.” Such troubling interactions at major events can take many forms, like when a woman at the World Cup filmed security guards directing only Egyptian fans into a separate screening line. 

She then brings up other problems from the event, saying, “What’s happening today the security are like fighting with each other. The security started fighting at the gate too. The police are giving the wrong advice.” The officer asks her, “Why didn’t you call us?” She responds, “It’s too late, it was too late.” The confusion over police guidance extended to other World Cup venues, such as when a Miami woman found police blocking her neighborhood near the stadium. 

Still trying to find a proper place to leave the card, she asks him again, “So where’s guest services?” He tells her, “I got it,” and takes the card from her. On-screen text reads, “FINALLY thank you,” as she walks away.

The video then shows her approaching a second set of officers, with one uniform showing “LADDER 21.” She tells him, “Hello, we found a card and we wanted to just leave it here.” The officer takes the card. She adds, “We don’t know how to find the owner, but in case they do-” and an officer’s voice can be heard saying, “thank you for dinner.” The video ends with her walking away as on-screen text reads, “we tried.”

According to financial guidance from Bankrate, people who find a lost credit card should turn it in to staff or security if they’re at a place of business, or take it to the nearest police precinct if they’re out in public. Bankrate also advises against calling 911, since a found card is not considered an emergency, and recommends against trying to track down the owner personally, since it could lead to the card ending up in the wrong hands or create confusion about how the person came to have it.

The site also notes that once a lost card is reported, the card’s bank or issuer can cancel it and send the owner a replacement, and that a representative may ask the finder to destroy the card using scissors or by demagnetizing the strip, depending on the type of card.

The video has drawn a large number of comments from viewers reacting to how the officers responded. Several commenters expressed frustration with the interaction. One commenter wrote, “Man they didn’t gaf.” Another wrote, “Honestly if y find a card best thing you can do for them is cut it in half, no faith in humanity bro.”

One comment referenced the officer’s remark directly, writing, “‘Just got spend it’ so now there’s an actual crime they give a s–t about.” Another commenter questioned whether police should be expected to handle the situation at all, writing, “Was it used in a crime? No? Good, cops aren’t a lost and found.”

Someone speculated about the type of card found, writing, “That’s a virtual wallet, chances are the owner has lots of virtual currency on it and you js made someone rich.” Another commenter offered a different approach to finding the owner, writing, “Im screaming their name till I find them lol.”