The grinches may be out to get you this holiday season, but there are ways to protect yourself. Jamie Angelle with the Lafayette Police Department advises meet-ups that take place for you to pay for something you bought from another individual take place outside a police station if possible. That’s as he explains, “where they have 24-hour camera surveillance, and you show up and you can call and a police officer who is nearby can watch the exchange and make sure nobody gets hurt or taken advantage of.”
And if you’re concerned about “porch pirates” grabbing gifts, company’s like Amazon will deliver packages to Whole Foods or another location you may designate, like a neighbor who might be home when you’re away or your business.
Angelle says there are options to exchanging money for items you purchased other than outside a cop shop that can help to keep you safe when meeting up with someone you don’t really know. His advice is to never go into these transactions alone.
If you’re carrying around more cash than usual during the holidays, Angelle suggests an alternative so you don’t wind up losing it to a thief. “If at all possible trying to Venmo money if you can or use some of those online currency exchange apps that are so popular now that reduce your risk of having to carry around cash,” said Angelle.
Comments