Do Not Be a Victim of Holiday Burglars
Article Published by KJRH Channel 2, Tulsa, OK
Many Green Country homes have expensive electronic gifts under the Christmas tree, just waiting to be opened on Christmas morning.Police warn those gifts can make you a target for burglars. They say a little bit of common sense goes a long way when making your home less of a target. A good place to start is not leaving the boxes for all those high ticket items by the curb.
“It’s a giant neon sign saying steal me! Look at what is here! He doesn’t even have to work for it cause it’s right there on the curb,” says Burglary Sergeant Brandon Watkins. He warns what you leave by the curb could be an open invitation telling burglars that you are the proud new owner of a flat screen tv, laptop or gaming system.
He recommends that after you open gifts, take a few minutes to make sure thieves won’t be able to see the boxes your presents came in. “Tear down the boxes. Cut them up and put them in plastic bags. Don’t advertise that you have nice, new stuff that is available for theft by some burglar that is casing your neighborhood.”
Watkins says after you’ve hidden the boxes, locate the serial numbers for all your new electronic items. Write them down, keep them someplace safe. He recommends using a secured website such as a www.bwiusa.com.
Watkins says it safely stores all your serial numbers at no cost. This way they won’t be lost if your computer is stolen.
“When you go out and buy some of this stuff, take the time on Christmas Day to write down and log into that website. And they will have it just in case it gets lost or stolen,” says Watkins.
Having a record of your serial numbers will ensure that investigators can return them to you if they are pawned or recovered by police.
Without this information, there is no way to match stolen electronics to the rightful owner.