Nila Priyambodo
Managing Editor
According to America Online news polls, on average each person with an income between $30,000 and $50,000 will spend roughly $1,344 this holiday season (up $500 from last year) on gifts for friends and family.
Busy trying to find sales, shoppers forget about the steps they need to take after a day’s worth of frenzied shopping.
“Shoppers with their hands full of bags and gifts are an attacker’s No. 1 victim,” said Lt. Jim Strona of the La Verne Police Department. “They’re too busy trying to carry all of the bags that they don’t look at their surroundings and their hands are too full to fight back.”
Shoppers should remember the following tips to prevent being a victim during the holiday season:
• Park in a well-lit area and in an area with other cars. Don’t park in an empty parking lot.
• Stay alert, even if it means staying off a cell phone. Constantly look at the surroundings. Keep your head up instead of looking at the floor when walking. Distracted shoppers are easy targets.
• If your hands become too full with bags, go to the car and keep them in the trunk or out of sight in the car. Then, park the car in a different spot. An attacker might assume that a shopper is carrying a lot of cash if seen with many shopping bags.
• When returning to the car, have the keys ready in hand, get in the car as quickly as possible and lock the doors immediately.
• Women should carry their purses close to their bodies and never leave it unattended in shopping carts.
• Never carry large amounts of cash. Just bring one credit card or debit card when shopping.
“They should also remember that if they have a gut feeling that something isn’t right, ask a security guard to walk them to their car,” Strona said. “It is also easier if they go shopping with their friends. Attackers usually attack people walking alone, not groups of people.
“And if a person is being attacked, always remember to fight and scream for help,” he added. “Attackers want an easy victim, not one that will fight for their lives.”
Nila Priyambodo can be reached at npriyambodo@ulv.edu.
