 The holiday season is in full swing and not only is Santa Claus coming to town, so are the bad guys. By remaining aware of some of the risks that come with this time of year, you can better protect yourself and the items you're purchasing. Hello everyone, I'm Deputy Ron Bezzetto from the Pasco Sheriff's Office and welcome to the Crime Prevention Minute. Shoppers carry more cash and credit cards with them while shopping and many avoid the mad rush of the stores altogether by taking advantage of internet shopping deals having their package sent directly to their homes. Each staff, also known as porch pirating, is an easy opportunity for criminals to benefit from your wallet. So here's some great holiday crime prevention tips to assist you in having a safe and enjoyable holiday season. Ship your package to a location where someone you know will be available to receive it, which may include your work address or a relative, neighbor, or friend's home. Consider having deliveries sent to a PO box. This is an inexpensive alternative to having your packages stolen. FedEx offers a program called Delivery Manager. While UPS's version is called My Choice, both allow you to customize your deliveries. You can change the time and location of your delivery, request a signature upon delivery, and even ask to hold your package if you know you're going to be out of the house when they try to deliver. Sign up is free online at their websites. This will help you avoid the risk of leaving unattended packages sitting out on your doorsteps for a criminal tape. Parking lot pilfering is another way thieves can take advantage of your parked vehicle. They often will break windows or punch locks to gain access to items left in plain view. Open windows and unlock doors can also make your car an easy target. To help reduce the risk of theft from your vehicle, always lock your doors. Even if you're quickly running in somewhere, be sure to put the car windows up when leaving it unattended. Don't keep any items, including your purse, your wallet, your cell phones, your iPads in plain view, which will catch the eye of a thief. Be sure to secure all the items in a trunk of the car out of sight. Also, be sure to remove any portable accessories, such as GPS units, when leaving your car. On behalf of Sheriff Chris Nako and all of us here at the Sheriff's Office, we want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. Have a safe holiday.