The following tips can help you to stay safe this holiday season on your shopping adventures:
- Be alert and aware of your surroundings.
- Lock the doors to your vehicle and hide all shopping bags and valuable items.
- Do not carry large amounts of cash.
- Pay with a credit card, not debit card, whenever possible.
- Monitor all credit and debit card activity.
- Save all your receipts and online confirmations to verify purchases.
- Keep a careful eye on your purse and/or wallet. Use a zipper purse and keep it closed while shopping.
- Have a plan in place if you get separated from your children.
- Use secure websites when making online purchases. Look for the icon of a locked padlock or “https” in the URL address on the top of your browser.
- Watch out for online scams from unknown websites and merchants. If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.