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Holiday Shopping Safety Tips
Miramar Police Department would like to wish the community a safe and joyous holiday season. We suggest following these prevention tips to prevent thieves and other criminals from ruining your holidays: ▸ Avoid wearing expensive jewelry or carrying large amounts of cash. Whenever possible, use credit/debit cards. Try to shop with friends or relatives. There is safety in numbers. ▸ Don’t leave valuables in your car and always make sure to lock your doors.
Covering items to hide them does not work and may only draw attention. If you must leave valuable items in your car while out and about, place items out of sight before reaching your destination and make sure you are not followed. ▸ When returning to your auto (or home), have your keys in your hand, ready to open the door. ▸ Be extra careful with purses and wallets. Carry a purse close to your body, not dangling by the straps or sitting in
a shopping cart. Beware of strangers approaching you for any reason. At this time of year, “con-artists” may try various methods of distracting you with the intention of taking your money or belongings. ▸ Notify the credit card issuer immediately if your credit card is lost, stolen or misused. Keep a record of all of your credit card numbers in a safe place at home. ▸ Shopping with kids? Teach them to go to a store clerk or security guard if you get separated. ▸ Avoid overloading yourself with packages. It is important to have clear visibility and freedom of motion to avoid mishaps.
Shopping online? Review our package theft prevention tips to safeguard your packages:
▸Have packages delivered to your workplace, if possible. ▸ Have packages delivered to a neighbor
or family member who will be there to accept them. ▸ Make sure you have the tracking information for your packages and monitor it. If your packages do not arrive as scheduled, contact the sender immediately. ▸ If available, request a signature delivery option. This will require the delivery driver to obtain a signature or deliver the package at another time. ▸ Request a specific drop-off time and date from the carrier, if possible. ▸ Arrange to have your packages held at the delivery service site for pick up. ▸ Ask the delivery service to leave your packages by the side/back door or enclosed porch where packages are out of sight.
