Let the Shopping Begin

TYLER – Black Friday ushers in the Christmas shopping season. While being a busy time for shoppers, it is also a busy time for thieves. Thieves take the joy out of the season by stealing your gifts, purses wallets, packages or other valuables you leave in plain sight inside your vehicle. Tyler police have some basic safety tips for shoppers to prevent crimes or crashes from occurring during the holiday season. Such things as Hide your belongings and gifts from eyesight and lock them in your trunk. Don’t take your eyes off your purse or leave it unattended. And, Monitor your personal checking account on-line for fraud.

Other tips:
*Lock your car, take the keys, and be aware of your surroundings at all times.
* Do not be a victim of a Pigeon Drop. Suspects will make you think you are going to get a large amount of money and end up taking all of yours. Suspects will usually want to take you to your bank or ATM machine and these scams normally involve large sums of money.
*Safety for you is always better with more than one person being present especially during night time hours.

The Tyler Police Department will have an increased patrol presence in shopping areas by providing bike officers and patrol officers.