Three Common Holiday Crimes

The holiday season is no stranger to criminal activity, and certain crimes actually increase in frequency during this time. On this blog, we look at three crimes that occur more often during the holidays.

Identity Theft

A lot of holiday shopping has moved online. Every year, more people choose to avoid crowded shopping malls or retail stores and purchase their gifts at their convenience online. Hackers also increase their efforts to invade your computer during this time, knowing a lot of sensitive information moves online. As a result, viruses, spyware, and other malicious software starts spreading quickly.

If you are doing any online shopping, be sure to sweep your computer with a virus or spyware scanner before entering any sensitive information. Likewise, always be sure that the site you are purchasing anything from is legitimate. Skilled scammers will often create websites that look like a major website, but will in fact steal your sensitive information.

Burglary

The holidays is a time for travel for a lot of people, who may leave to visit family, friends, or even to visit a snowy ski resort. This is a prime opportunity for burglars to commit home-invasion robberies with the lowest chance of getting caught.

Remember the burglars from Home Alone? They scouted a neighborhood in an old plumbing van to determine which families were gone on vacation and scout their targets. While this does still occur, today’s burglars tend to track social media posts to find who’s away from home. Be careful what you post; you could be telling a potential burglar that your home will be unoccupied for an extended length of time, making it a prime target.

DUI

The holidays are filled with celebrations and parties, often involving alcohol consumption. This means a number of intoxicated drivers, and increased presence of officers looking to get them off the roads. If you plan on attending a holiday party with family, friends, or co-workers, be sure to plan ahead. Either travel with a designated driver or get a ride over to your party. The cost of an Uber or Lyft fare pales in comparison to the costs associated with a DUI charge, or the expenses if you cause an accident.

If you are arrested this holiday season, you should not face your charges without the assistance of a skilled Modesto criminal defense attorney. At the Law Offices of Mark W. Girdner, our team has demonstrated substantial legal acumen in many cases, earning an extensive record of successful cases. Attorney Girdner is a former Deputy District Attorney, an experience that makes him familiar with the processes and arguments of a prosecutor, allowing him to create individually-tailored and hard-hitting defense cases.