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The last thing I want to do this holiday season is walk out of the shopping mall and find my car has been broken into or worse stolen completely. Every year it happens to more people then you might imagine and at this time of the year it can happen to anyone. Theft is usually a crime of opportunity when a car appears easy to break into or thieves see something inside they will be drawn to your car.
While you are shopping for all those gifts, or running to the grocery store to get some more eggnog be sure to follow these six tips:
- Tip #1 Park your car in a well lit area.
- Tip #2 Pick a parking space close to the entrance or in a high traffic area where lots of people pass by it.
- Tip #3 Keep all of the windows rolled up and the car locked. (It’s a good idea to do this even when your car is parked at your own house.)
- Tip #4 Don’t keep valuables in your car if you can avoid it. If you have no choice and need to keep some of your gifts in your car be sure they are hidden from view. I use an old jacket and kids blankets in my van and let things look like a mess of kid junk, it’s easy to hid a lot of gifts under the school papers and soccer gear!
- Tip #5 Thieves are still interested in the same things they always are, so if you have invested in a nice car stereo it’s a good idea to consider buying one with a removable face. Then keep it your trunk or carry with you.
- Tip #6 With identity theft on the rise it’s important to protect your personal information. Keep your car registration and insurance card some place other then the glove box. I use a zip-lock baggie to hold my registration and proof of insurance and then hide it under the floor mat, or in another location of my car. I don’t like taking these things out of the car because it’s important to be able to produce these documents if I’m stopped by police.
Related Blogs:
- Safe Holiday Shopping Tips
- How To Have a Claim Free Holiday Season
- Mitigating Claims Damages–What Does That Mean?
Permission for use and Photo credit for this blog entry: Aaron Gardner / fearthecat at: 
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