Holiday Safety
The Raleigh Police Department has some advice to stay safe during the holiday season.
First, ideas for all those package deliveries:
- Require a signature for the package.
- Have it delivered to your work location.
- Set and monitor delivery service tracking (you get an alert when a package is set to be delivered, so you can have someone pick it up.
- Have it delivered to a friend or family member (someone who is home during the day.)
- Designate a specific delivery location (you can authorize the delivery service to leave the package somewhere other than the front porch, ie. back porch, side door, garage, or with a neighbor.
- Have the package delivered to a UPS store.
- Install a webcam (it may not prevent a package from being stolen, buy could identify the guilty party.)
- Ask a neighbor to check your front door frequently on a day when you know a package will come.
Here are a few tips to keep yourself safe when buying or selling items through apps like Craigslist, Letgo, OfferUp, and others.
- Meet in a public place during the daytime - a police department parking lot is ideal.
- Do not go alone. Take someone with you if available.
- If purchasing tickets to a concert or show, check with the venue first to make sure the seats exist.
- If purchasing something large for a lot of money, meet at the bank and have them run the money through their machine to make sure it's real.
- Set up an email address to use for online sales only. Don't give out personal information.
- You control the meeting. Only accept cash payment, don't take partial payments or agree to anything other than what was expected. Hand over merchandise only after you receive payment.
- Ask for ID, get a vehicle description and license tag number, don’t let anyone inside to use the bathroom if you have to meet at your home, and meet where you want.