MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - Thanksgiving is the gateway to holiday shopping for many eager consumers.

With Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals right around the corner the Meridian Police Department wanted to remind shoppers about the increased risks during the holidays.

Many shoppers still prefer to see the item before they buy and it's important to remain vigilant as thieves know people are out to spend big during the holidays and will target shopping centers.

Lt. Rick Grillo provided tips to keep in mind while out at the stores.

"Park in well lit areas. It's great if you can shop with somebody else... For women if you are carrying a purse and have a cart you are pushing it's not a bad idea to actually use the child seat strap and use that to lock your purse to the cart, or carry a carabiner."

Thieves who grab and go will often look for the easiest, quickest opportunity so a simple deterrence can be all it take to prevent a theft.

Online thieves are an entirely different problem and are more well known to consumers in our digital age.

Password strength is an excellent first step to preventing illegal online activity.

"Avoid public wi-fi if you can, because really their mostly open networks and it would be easy for a hacker to sit down at Biggby with you and see open networks...and see what you're viewing."

Be weary of emails when you don't recognize the sender and it's probably best to not open it at all.

Online vendors should never ask for a social security number so avoid a site immediately if it does.

Secure websites will display a lock symbol in the upper left corner of the browser (Google Chrome, Safari, Firefox) by the URL address.