Tips To Stay Safe During Holiday Shopping

SAN ANGELO, TX- San Angelo Police Department has provided safety tips and suggestions to help holiday shoppers avoid accidents, theft, and other holiday-shopping pitfalls.

How to protect yourself inside the store:

• Keep your purse close to your body or your wallet in an inside coat pocket or front pants pocket.
• Don't argue or fight over an item.
• Don't take your money out until asked to do so.
• Use only one credit card.
• Save your receipts and monitor your credit card activity.Ask for help moving and loading large items if needed.
• If shopping with children, select a location to meet in case you are separated. Teach kids how to ask a police officer, security guard, or employee for help if they're lost.

How to protect yourself in your vehicle:

• Be patient when looking for a parking space. Don't speed up to catch that empty (or soon-to-be empty) spot, and be cautious of other drivers who do.
• If possible, park your vehicle in a well-lit area.
• Look around and under your vehicle before approaching it.
• Store shopping bags out of plain sight, in your trunk, if possible.
• Look for other cars or people, and back out slowly.

How can I protect yourself on the internet:

• Stick to retailers you know and preferably, have shopped with before.
• Research a business you haven’t purchased from before by checking customer reviews or complaints with the Better Business Bureau.
• Never commit to a deal that seems too good to be true.
• Refrain from using public Wi-Fi to make purchases, or use a VPN to avoid hackers intercepting your information.
• Check a webpage’s security by looking for the lock icon in the URL field, and making sure the URL starts with “https”, not just “http”. The “s” means the site is safer and more secure.