As Christmas shopping season moves into top gear, I thought I'd share my best hints for shopping safely:

• Take with you only the credit cards and cash you actually need for the shopping run. Don't take every card you own. If your wallet is stolen, you'll have fewer cards to cancel and you'll have cards to use in the interim.
• Don't carry a purse or keep your cards and cash in outer pockets. Keep whatever you need to carry close to your body, like in your jeans pocket. You may not notice someone grabbing something out of your coat pocket, but you're likely to notice a hand in your jeans!
• Do not store your packages in your car. If you do have to keep packages in a car during a shopping trip, make sure you keep them out of sight.  No one is fooled by the misshapen blanket on the back seat.
• Never let a store clerk take your credit card out of your sight.  And make it a habit to double check for your card before you leave the counter.
• Don't let the clerk put your receipt in the bag. Keep all your receipts in a separate envelope. If your gifts are stolen, you'll have an accurate listing of the goods and their prices for the police and insurance reports.
• If you are shopping alone, make use of mall security to escort you to your car, especially after dark.
• If you are shopping online, go only to trusted sites. Never click on a link in an email — go to the site yourself.
• If you do go to an unknown site, use a service like PayPal to pay so they don't get your credit card number.
• In any case, pay careful attention to your credit card transactions for at least the next month, just in case