Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Look for an Increase in Crime During the Holidays

By Pierre Levingston

Holidays are meant to be for family togetherness and seasons greetings. But for many people the holidays are a time for criminal activity. Sadly, crimes normally increase during the holiday.

There normally is an increase in crime rate during the week of Thanksgiving. It peaks around mid-December when people are traveling to visit family. Thanksgiving and Christmas are the worst time for fraud crimes.

Be wary of any potential scams that people may be using to gain your personal information. Keep yourself safe by being aware of your surroundings during the holidays. It doesn't take a lot of effort or time to steal a credit card or bank account number, especially with today's technology.

Protect your credit card number by keeping your card face down when you pull it out to use. Once it is scanned put it away quickly. A lot of people steal credit card numbers by standing behind someone in line while their credit card number is out and thumb the number into their phones for future use.

Another way to keep your personal information protected is to keep all potential information out of the trash. Shred all personal information before throwing it away. You also never know who will be digging through you trash looking for their next victim.

Criminal activity seems to be even higher this year due to the weak economy. Many people have lost their jobs and less ethical choices are being made. There has been an increase in juvenile shoplifting, which could be a direct result of the economy because their parents can't afford to get them something that they feel they need.

Break ins during the holiday weeks also increase. If you are traveling this holiday season, be careful to take precautions to safeguard your home. Be sure to alert your alarm company to let them know you will be traveling out of town.

Holidays are great times that people look forward to every year. However, for many criminals this also is a popular time. Be careful this season so you don't become one of their victims.

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