Women should carry purses with long straps that can be flung over the neck, making it harder for a thief to snatch it away. Police are also warning merchants to stay alert for counterfeit bills. Counterfeiters tend to try to pass fake bills during the Christmas season, when store clerks are busiest. Most counterfeit bills are 20s and 100s. Rodriguez said merchants have the right to seize the bills and call police if they suspect they are fake.
Parents are also more likely to lose track of their children in the busy crush of shoppers.
Police are asking that parents teach their children what to do in case they get separated. The first rule, Rodriguez said, is that children should never talk to strangers. Children should be taught to seek out store clerks or store managers who re wearing nametags or uniforms. Children should be taught that they should never leave the store to look for their parents or wander out into the parking lot looking for the family vehicle, Rodriguez added.