Holiday Shopping Safety Tips

Shopping Centers

• Park in a well-lighted space.
• Carry pepperspray and stun guns for your protection.
• Many crimes occur in parking lots. You should be aware of what, and who, is around you from the minute you exit your vehicle. Stay off your cell phone when walking to and from your car. Your full attention needs to be on your surroundings.
• Always lock your car. Any purchases you have made, place them in a trunk where they are out of view.
• Trust your instincts. If someone is approaching you and they make you feel uncomfortable, move in a direction where there are several people and ask for assistance.
• Don’t shop alone. There is safety in numbers.
• Avoid carrying large amounts of cash.
• Have your keys out when you leave the store and ready to enter your vehicle.
• Do not overload yourself with packages to the point that you cannot protect yourself if someone dangerous approaches.
• While shopping, remain alert as to where your personal effects are. Purses and wallets contain everything a criminal needs to commit identity theft, auto theft and residential burglary (drivers license, home addresses, checkbooks, keys to homes, etc.). Ladies, never put your purse in a shopping cart. Criminals like to work in pairs. While one distracts your attention, the other will take off with the complete purse or reach in and take the wallet. Keep the purse over your shoulder with the purse firmly pressed close to your body. If the purse is too heavy to carry, then it’s time to think about lightening the load.

Holiday Gift Cards

While some gift cards have no expiration date, because they are reloadable cards, there are others that do have an expiration date that you need to be aware of. You need to closely check the fine print on the back of the card or your receipt for those time limits.

Also remember, purchasing a gift card from any merchant does not guarantee that business will be open when you or the recipient wishes to redeem it. Our economy is still recovering and sometimes a business finds itself in a situation where they must make a difficult choice to close.

Extra ways to safeguard against Gift Card Scams

• If you are accustomed to purchasing gift cards from a display rack that has various store cards, be aware that you may become a victim of theft. Value drainers jot down the card numbers found on the back of the cards simply by lightly prying the card from its cardboard base. The value drainer then waits a few days and calls the toll free number on the card to see how much of a balance THEY have access to on the card. Once it has been determined that the card has been activated and the amount on the card, they begin their Christmas shopping online, all at your expense.
• Be sure to purchase gift cards from reputable sources. If purchasing gift cards online, be sure to purchase them from the online versions of the store and not from auctions. Some auctions have been known to be scams.
• Whether you choose a card from a rack or have a clerk hand it to you, always examine both sides of what you're buying before paying for it, even if that means removing the item from its packaging to do so. If you see signs of tampering, or you see that the card's PIN has been exposed, don't purchase the card. Instead, hand it over to the store's management, pointing out what you saw.
• Keep your receipt as proof of purchase for as long as there is value stored on the card.
• Some card issuers offer the option of registering the gift card at the store's website. Doing so gives you the ability to periodically check your card's balance online.

If you should become a victim of any crime, the first contact you should make is to file a report either with the Police Department or Sheriff’s Department, depending on where the incident happened.

Burglary Prevention Tips

• Make sure that all exterior doors have sturdy, well installed dead bolt locks. Regular key-in the knob locks alone are not enough.

• Sliding glass doors can be secured by installing commercial locks or putting a broomstick handle or dowel in the inside track to jam the door. To prevent the door from being lifted off the track, drill a hole through the sliding door frame and the fixed frame and insert a pin in the hole.

• Lock double–hung windows with key locks or "pin" your windows by drilling a small hole at a 45 degree angle between the inner and outer frames, then insert a nail that can be removed only from the inside.

• Instead of hiding keys around the outside of your home, give a neighbor you trust an extra key for emergencies.

• When you move into a new home re-key the locks on all exterior doors immediately.

• Burglars hate bright lights. Install flood lighting to your homes exterior and keep them on at night or set them to detect motion around your home.

• Don't hire strangers to cut your grass or perform work on your home. Burglars use these opportunities to find out what valuables you own and to learn how to break into your home when you're away.

• Take regular walks in your neighborhood and make mental note of your surroundings. If something looks strange or out of place, call the police immediately.

• When you're at home, look outside from your windows and do a quick inspection of the area and call the police if you see anything suspicious.

• Call the police if you see a person tampering with doors and windows in your neighborhood. Your call to police may prevent a burglary in your neighborhood.

Stun Guns and Pepper Spray

Stun guns and pepper spray make great stocking stuffers.

What Burglars Look For

According to FBI Uniform Crime Reports, Burglary offenses increased 1.3 percent in cities with 25,000 to 49,999 persons. Burglaries also increased in non-metropolitan counties by 1.2 percent.

http://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/fbi-releases-preliminary-annual-crime-statistics-for-2010 

It's a good idea to keep a weapon in your house to protect yourself and your family. I would highly recommend stun guns. Place several stun guns around the house so they are readily available, no matter where you are in your home when the burglary occurs. Stun guns are highly effective and accidental use of stun guns will not result in death like handguns or shotguns.

What Burglars look for:

1. If you don't close your blinds at night, they love looking in your windows to spot an expensive flat screen TV, computer, video games, etc.

2. Most burglars get in a house through the back door. Keep that in mind and keep it locked up at all times

3. If you have a fancy alarm system, do not forget to set it at all times, even when you are at home

4. If you leave that window open just a little bit during those warm summer days to let fresh air in, that might be an invitation to a burglar to come in too

5. Stop announcing your vacations on Facebook, MySpace etc. It's very easy to locate your address and other personal information

6. Having a loud dog in your house is a good idea, even if you have a great alarm system installed

7. Having nosy neighbors next door can be a great thing also. Talk to your neighbors and agree on keeping an eye on each others homes

8. Burglars look for newspapers piled up on your driveway or might leave a flyer in your front door to see how long it takes you to remove it

9. They never go to kids rooms to look for valuable things, so it might be a good idea to hide some things there

10. If you have a safe in your room, you need to bolt it down, otherwise your burglars might take it with them, since they don't have time to break into it

11. If it snows while you are out of town, get a neighbor to create car tracks in your driveway

12. Burglars always knocks first, so answer the door at all times. Otherwise they can get in your house while you are in there - surprise, surprise! And it can be quite dangerous.

13. While on vacation, I would recommend to leave a few lights on in the house and may be a radio also. It can be a better deterrent than your alarm system.

14. Crooks try their best to never look like crooks. They can dress like a cable guy, a sales person with a clip board or be dressed like a lawn guy.

15. Don't ever leave your door unlocked even if you just go to pick up the mail or take a short walk. As sad as it sounds, some of the robbers occasionally hit the jack pot and walk right in.

Burglary Prevention Tips

Make sure that all exterior doors have sturdy, well installed dead bolt locks. Regular key-in the knob locks alone are not enough.

Sliding glass doors can be secured by installing commercial locks or putting a broomstick handle or dowel in the inside track to jam the door. To prevent the door from being lifted off the track, drill a hole through the sliding door frame and the fixed frame and insert a pin in the hole.

Lock double-hung windows with key locks or "pin" your windows by drilling a small hole at a 45 degree angle between the inner and outer frames, then insert a nail that can be removed only from the inside.

Instead of hiding keys around the outside of your home, give a neighbor you trust an extra key for emergencies.

When you move into a new home re-key the locks on all exterior doors immediately.

Burglars hate bright lights. Install flood lighting to your homes exterior and keep them on at night or set them to detect motion around your home.

Don't hire strangers to cut your grass or perform work on your home. Burglars use these opportunities to find out what valuables you own and to learn how to break into your home when you're away.

Take regular walks in your neighborhood and make mental note of your surroundings. If something looks strange or out of place, call the police immediately.

When you're at home, look outside from your windows and do a quick inspection of the area and call the police if you see anything suspicious.

Call the police if you see a person tampering with doors and windows in your neighborhood. Your call to police may prevent a burglary in your neighborhood.