Saints owner Gayle Benson thwarted an attempted vehicle theft last weekend -- screaming at the perp until he fled -- and the team says she's "very shaken" over the incident.
It all went down in New Orleans while 73-year-old Benson was seated inside her car.
Cops say someone in a white Nissan Titan pulled up next to her around 2:15 p.m. on Oct. 10 ... and tried to get into her car.
Cops have NOT said what kind of car Benson was in at the time of the incident -- but she's a billionaire, so we imagine it was nice.