Unfortunately, burglars view the holiday season a little differently than the rest of us. For them, it is a time of opportunity. The Houston Police Department wants you to be safe! By practicing the suggested crime prevention tips, you can help reduce the chances of you becoming a victim. The following are a few strategies that will help you enjoy the holidays without incident.
SHOPPING PREVENTION TIPS
Holiday season is a time of year during which many of us will be busy shopping and running errands in order to be ready for the holiday celebrations. We must not forget that criminals will also be out and about looking for easy targets to make a big score.Even though you are rushed and thinking about a thousand things, stay alert to your surroundings.
SHOP – before dark if possible.
NEVER – park in an unlit lot or area, no matter how convenient it is.
LOCK – packages and gifts in your vehicle’s trunk. Keep your vehicle’s doors locked and windows closed. This is especially relevant for SUVs.
REMOVE – All interior valuables from plain view. Lock these items in the trunk or glove box.
DO NOT – leave any articles of value in your car unattended, especially overnight. (e.g. cell phones, laptops, money, wallets, purses).
IF YOU NOTICE – anyone acting suspicious or hanging around the parking lot, return to the store or business and notify the management or call the police at 713-884-3131.
AT HOME – if possible, put your vehicle in a garage and lock the door or at least park the vehicle in the driveway.
ONLINE – We live our lives simultaneously in person and online. So, remember when you’re shopping online avoid using public WiFi. Additionally, due to advanced hacking techniques, when selecting sites to shop from look for sites that have “https,” (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure) instead of “http.” When you use https, the Secure Sockets Layer Certificate uses a string of characters to encrypt the data so only your device and the merchant’s device can see the information. If a third party intercepts the data, it will be scrambled. Remember to practice safe habits with your cell phones and iPads when shopping. It’s easy to get distracted and lay down your device down on a display or in the dressing room and forget to pick it back up when you leave.
During the holidays, family and friends love to capture the moment in pictures and videos. Remember NOT to post pictures to social media that indicate that you are out of town as it sends a message to all those would be thieves that your house is uninhabited.
These are just a few of the important tips to keep your holiday season full of good memories, instead of bad ones.