We gathered up police departments across the country Christmas shopping safety tips to prepare you for the Holiday season.
Criminals love Christmas. It’s a pretty lucrative season for them. While we’re enjoying the most wonderful time of the year, they’re busy looking for easy marks to target.
Let’s make sure it’s not you!
Christmas Shopping Safety Tips
1. Don’t shop alone at night.
It’s best to have someone with you when you’re shopping in the evening.
If you must shop alone at night, park as close to the store as you can, and park in a well-lit area.
2. Put the packages in the trunk of the car.
Leaving your bags and packages in your car rather than your trunk is a mistake the bad guys hope you make.
It’s sort of like hanging a sign on your car that reads, “Please break the glass and help yourself.”
3. Take your car keys out of your purse before you leave the store.
People who want to rob you or do you harm need you to be distracted so that you can’t see them coming.
They target women who are distracted by digging around in their purse for their keys.
4. Don’t text when you’re walking to and from your car.
In the same way that hunting for your keys takes your eyes off your surroundings, texting is a signal that you’re an easy mark.
5. Try not to use the ATM.
ATMs are to criminals what candy shops are to kids. In most cases, it’s easy for them to walk up to you or to your car and force you to hand over your money.
If you absolutely must have cash, go to the drive-thru teller at your bank.
This is a safety tip from the Windham, NH Police Dept found HERE
6. Never leave your purse in the front of a cart.
You may think you’ll know if someone is bothering your purse, but you won’t. There are plenty of bad guys who are masters at either grabbing your entire purse or sneaking their hand in to get your wallet.
Zip up or close your purse and then put the child seatbelt through the straps. Thieves don’t want to deal with someone who makes it hard for them to steal something. They’ll move on.
7. No wearing expensive jewelry when you’re shopping.
For obvious reasons, leave it at home.
8. Try not to carry lots of cash.
Every time you check out at a store, there is the potential for a bad guy to notice cash in your wallet.
If you can avoid using cash, it’s probably a good idea.
9. Lock your car doors as soon as you’re inside.
The very first thing you should do when you get in is to lock the doors. Don’t put your seatbelt on or start your engine until you’ve hit the lock button.
Those are the best tips I’ve learned from police officers to stay safe Christmas shopping.
Please be careful when you’re out having fun Christmas shopping. How do you stay safe when you’re Christmas shopping? Any tips I’ve left out?
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31 comments on “Police are Prompting Women to Know these Holiday Shopping Safety Tips”
Carry your phone and keys in you pocket while shopping so if your purse is taken you are not stranded.
Actually, you need to use cash as much as possible during the Holiday season. Using you credit card opens you up to whole new world of attacks. Scammers are waiting for the holidays where everyone is spending a whole lot of money to hijack the stores information and get your credit card and banking information. Have your cash ready before going to the checkout lane. Go to a part of the you feel most and get your cash out. My personal experience it is the car care aisles.
Rather than carry cash, I would recommend carrying a pre-paid debit card. Pre-pay the amount you want to spend, and when that amount is spent, the card is invalid until you load more on it. This protects your cash and your credit card. Useful for online orders too.
I always put the child strap around my purse.
When I go to my car I immediately put my purse in the car, lock it back up and then put my purchases in the trunk.
Put your keys in your hand so that the keys point out between your fingers so you can use them as a weapon if you are attacked.
I tested out the unsecured wallet in the front of the cart before. I pretended not to be paying attention but I was watching to see how people react. Most people are good people and leave it alone. If a thief did come by, I fully expected to see someone quickly reach inside the cart to grab it or take something inside it, as this article says.
I was wrong. I did catch somebody in the act but she didn’t do it the way I expected. She saw the wallet in the cart, checked if anyone was looking, then quickly as possible she started walking off with the whole cart.
I stopped her and she claimed she had just made a mistake by grabbing the wrong cart. To verify her story I followed her but she had no cart. This was not a case of mistaken carts but I had to applaud the cleverness of that method.. The thief has plausible deniability that way.
This article needs to be updated because strapping your purse into your cart will NOT stop a thief. They’re going to try taking the whole cart when you’re not looking.
i do those all the time
The tip about clipping the child restraint strap thru the handle. We’ve had whole carts stolen while the shoppers back was turned.
Thanks great tips
I have done all of these things all my shopping life. Most of it is just plain common sense. So many times when I am in the store I will tell people to strap up their purse like I have mind and I also put things over it so can’t be seen.
Wear a croos body purde. Carry only the minimum cards and money.
Christmas shop BEFORE December. Safer and no crowds to deal with.
I do all of this all the time
Put your phone in your front jeans pocket rather than in your purse. Buy one of the credit cards sleeves (RFID blocking are the best) that attach to your phone and put your driver’s license and credit card in that, then put it in your front pocket. Even better if you wear a shirt long enough to cover the pockets. Before you head to the store, make sure you have written down all of the credit cards that are in your wallet, the numbers, and the phone number for your credit card company. Also, write down anything else of value that’s in your purse. You think you’ll remember, but trust me, you won’t. I always strap my purse into the cart, not just during the holidays. Be aware of the people around you. If you think someone is watching you or following you, tell security and request an escort to your car. Don’t let anyone distract you. They might ask you to reach something on a high shelf, and while your back is turned an accomplice will take your purse.
Thank you for the great tips you shared.
Do your Christmas shopping all year long don’t wait til the last minute. Then your not out when the criminals are Christmas shopping.
No shopping at Walmart
#grabyourwallet
Keep your purse secure while loading the trunk with gifts. Someone can grab n go so quickly in parking lot.
Leaving a purse in a shopping cart, even strapped in is never a good idea. The thief simply pushes your cart right out of the store! Happened to my mom in the grocery store.
if you feel danger is near or you are going to be approached — put your horn on .. by pressing the button on your remote.. that will scare them away…
Purses in carts. Don’t just pass the child belt through the strap, wrap it around a time or two. Much harder to grab.