The holiday season has finally arrived and many of us will be shopping, visiting friends and relatives and traveling. This is a time for joy and cheer, but unfortunately this is also a popular time for the grinches and others ready prey on unsuspecting victims.
When shopping in a crowded mall or department store, be particularly careful of your purse or wallet. Carrying a purse in your hand is an easy target for a purse snatcher. Rather, carry a purse with a strap and place the strap over your shoulder and around your body.
If you have a personal alarm an excellent gift for the holidays attach the alarm to the purse and the end of the cord to your belt or another part of your dress. If you don't have a personal alarm, consider such a purchase. Not only can the personal alarm foil a potential purse snatching, the alarm can also deter a personal attack. Although the logical place to attach the alarm to the purse is on the purse strap, I recommend placing the alarm inside the purse. If a theft is attempted, the alarm may not sound as loud, however it will be more difficult for the purse snatcher to remove the alarm. Consequently, there will be a better chance to thwart the purse snatching.
Most men place their wallets in their back pockets an easy target for any pickpocket. Some 20 years ago, when I traveled overseas to visit an unfamiliar country, I decided to put my wallet in my front pocket. I believed that it would be more difficult for a pickpocket to reach into a front pocket to pick my wallet. I've continued that practice ever since. Better yet, if you are wearing a jacket with an inside pocket, use this inside pocket to hold your wallet. One final suggestion is to Velcro your wallet pocket. Of course there is some work and time involved in sewing or taping Velcro to your pockets, but this will certainly hinder a potential pickpocket. Isn't it worth a bit of time to prevent the loss of money and, more importantly, credit cards and identification?
Finally, men, don't carry your wallet in your hand. You think this doesn't happen? Last week a local news TV station showed a man walking in a shopping mall with his wallet in his hand. Both money and credit cards were visible.
If you happen to use a shopping bag, be careful not to lay down your shopping bag without holding onto it. The bags are easy to lay down since they can stand upright; however, this also makes it very simple for anyone to pick up the bag and disappear into the crowd within a few seconds. If you are intending to shop for much of the day and you expect to have lunch or rest, consider purchasing a motion detector. A motion detector is an alarm that is activated when moved. When you sit down for lunch or to rest, gather your purchases and any other personal items together and place the motion detector on top of your belongings. Anyone touching or attempting to pick up any of your purchases will activate the motion detector that, in turn, will alert you and the surrounding patrons.
Also, don't overload yourself. You can become an easy prey when leaving the shopping mall if your hands are full of purchases. If you are intending to make several purchases, you may want to place some of your purchases in your vehicle (see below) and then return to do more shopping. Let the security guard know that you have packages in your car and ask if they would take care to check your vehicle when they do their rounds. On the other hand, if you do have your hands full of purchases, find a security guard and ask if he/she would assist you to your vehicle.
Lastly, you obviously want to make the best of shopping in a crowd, but take time to be aware of your surroundings. Be alert, and if you need assistance, contact the nearest retailer or security guard to assist you.
As stated above, if your hands are full, consider asking a security guard for assistance. At least, wait until you see a security guard in the area of your vehicle before leaving the shopping area to return to your car. Before leaving the shopping area, remove your keys and have them ready. If you are searching for the keys in the parking lot, your attention is on finding your keys rather than being alert of your surroundings. As you approach your vehicle, look around and be alert. If you see any suspicious persons, return to the shopping area and notify security.
Store your belongings in your trunk, not in the back seat or front seat of your car particularly if you intend to stop someplace before returning home. As you drive off, be sure to lock all your doors and drive with the windows up.
If you have a van or station wagon with clear rear windows, consider purchasing tinted screens for your side-rear windows and your rear window (check with authorities to be sure you can tint the rear window). Additionally, you may want to purchase a piece darkly painted plywood, a dark tarp, or other dark material to lay over your packages to camouflage your purchases.
If you have an auto alarm, use it. Although an alarm may not draw the attention it should because of familiar false alarms, an auto alarm is, nevertheless, a deterrent. Of course, if you have an anti-theft device, use it. The anti theft device will not deter the thief of belongings in a car, but you certainly don't want to return from shopping to find your vehicle stolen.
When you return home from shopping, pull into the garage and close the garage door behind you before removing your packages. There is no need to let passerby's know that you have just purchased holiday gifts. If you don't have a garage, or you have a garage like mine filled with junk, back up into your driveway. At least you can open your trunk or the back of your van without exposure to the street.
If you put up decorations and lights during the holidays, don't get into the habit of turning on the lights at the same time every day. You may attend an office party or otherwise come home later than usual. If you are in the habit of turning your lights on at 5:30 and your lights aren't on by 6:00, this is a sure sign for a potential burglar that no one is in the house. You may want to purchase a timer for your lights, but perhaps get one with a variable timing device, particularly if you plan to be gone more than a day. Do you remember "Home Alone?" The burglars noticed that the lights at certain addresses came on at precisely the same time every evening which indicated that no one was in the houses. This can also happen in real life.
For safety, however, connect only your outdoor holiday lights to timers. Though holiday indoor lights are considered safe, it would unwise to leave that many lights on unattended. You can always connect timers to your lamps. Also, you may want to consider setting timers for your radio and/or your TV, particularly if you will be out for the evening or gone for a day or more.
Of course it's nice to have presents around a holiday tree, if you choose to have a tree, but every year we hear of burglars breaking into homes to steal holiday gifts. Remember, burglars want to grab as many items as quickly as possible. A burglar can break into a home and gather up the gifts around a holiday tree and leave the scene within a matter of minutes. If you want to display gifts around the tree, perhaps you can gift wrap empty boxes and less expensive gifts and place them around the tree. Keep the expensive gifts unwrapped in various areas of your home or in one location not easily accessible to burglars.
These are some tips to ensure that you have a joyous holiday season. For additional tips review previous articles written for this newspaper or call me at (714) 821-7667. I would also be happy to hold a crime prevention presentation in your home for you and your neighbors or at your business. Above all, have a wonderful and joyous holiday season by being alert and looking out for those grinches.
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