Man Has Last Laugh On Thief Who Broke Into Car To Steal Wallet: ‘Karma’

Aman who had his car broken into and his wallet stolen has told Newsweek how he ended up having the last laugh on the thief.

Musician and music teacher Michael Rowlands Jr. had just finished up at his local gym in Houston, Texas when he returned to his car to find one of the windows smashed and the wallet he had left in the middle compartment between the seats missing.

According to data shared with the Houston Chronicle by the Houston Police Department, in 2023 an average of 55 people per day reported their vehicles stolen. That amounts to nearly 20,000 stolen cars a year.

Rowlands’ situation was a little different from that though. The thief didn’t steal his car, but rather his wallet, which ended up being something of a bust.

As Rowlands stood waiting for Houston Police to arrive, he began getting notifications on his phone. The thief was trying to use his credit cards and it wasn’t going well, as Rowlands received alert after alert telling him his card had been declined due to a lack of funds.

“I started laughing when I saw them because I could see he was probably getting more frustrated than I was,” he said. “He was trying to buy gas. Was probably stranded as a result or at least I hoped so.”

Sensing an opportunity to revel in the “good old fashioned karma” of it all, Rowlands took to TikTok, posting a video to his account, dressy.fits, detailing what was happening.

“To the idiot who broke into my car and is trying to use my credit cards at the local gas station,” he said on the clip. “I’m actually getting real time notifications like ‘your card was declined’, ‘your Capital One was declined’, ‘your Bank of America was declined.'”

The video ends with Rowlands looking into the camera to ask: “How does it feel to know that you broke into a car of someone who is more broke than you?”

Rowlands said he shared the clip because he figured “others would find it funny,” like he did. “TikTok is such a great place for just open and random thought processing and honestly I was in shock at the sheer karma of it all,” he said.

Even so, Rowlands never expected the video to blow up in the way it has with over 37 million views and counting. For many, it was a painfully relatable experience.

“Happened to me,” one woman commented. “They went to the gas station first.. it declined for $1.50. I died laughing like buddy all my accounts are negative.” Another said: “Someone took my card 3 years ago and it kept declining for something that was $1.” Arguably the most extreme story came from the woman who replied: “Once I got a (really cheap and flimsy) bag stollen from my car… it only had a pair of pants I ruined with my period”

What was interesting was the number of people in similar financial situations. “That’s going to happen if someone steals my wallet or if I lose my credit card,” one viewer said. “Oh that’s me! Four cards all empty,” another wrote with a third simply commenting: “We all broke.” Looking back at these comments, Rowlands said: “A lot of people seem to be in the same boat.”

Credit card debt is certainly on the rise in the U.S. with figures published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York earlier this year estimating that Americans now owe a record $1.14 trillion on their credit cards.

Rowlands was able to identify the getaway vehicle as a Silver Jeep and knows what thief looks like, because he had pulled up alongside him in the gym parking lot. That is probably when he saw the wallet.

But the thief remains at large.

For now, Rowlands is basking in his viral fame and urging others to avoid the mistakes he made. “Don’t leave your wallet in the car,” he said. “You never know, there could be a thief watching you do it in the next car.”