According to authorities, post-holiday thieves can be using holiday trash to decide whether to break into homes, USA Today reported.
Police say thieves are observing more than who might be home when they drive through neighborhoods after Christmas, USA Today reported.
"I've had suspects tell me they specifically targeted a home after they saw a box in a trash can," Mark Gower, Sheriff of Iron County, Utah, told USA Today. Police warn that the leftover packaging from the Kindle or iPad can be used by burglars for weeks after the holidays to target homes.
He also added that vacationing families should wait until returning home to post vacation pictures, according to USA Today.
"Criminals see those boxes after Christmas that had big screen TVs or computers, iPads, Playstations, and they make a mental note to come back to that house at a later time," Iron County Deputy Del Schlosser told USA Today.
In order to avoid any theft after the holidays, all the cardboard boxes can be broken and dumped or recycled personally, to avoid having them sit in front of the home, USA Today reported. All the trash should be placed at the bottom of the bin in order for someone who is looking through to have a harder time eyeing anything of interest.
If using bags to get rid of trash, the bags should be dark in color so that gift boxes and cardboard cannot be seen through the bag, USA Today reported. Authorities also warn to not share your gift information online or through social media sites.
"People don't think about what they're sharing and that there are people online just going through Facebook and Twitter finding photos and posts that show what someone has gotten for Christmas," Detective Mike Bleak of the Cedar City, Utah, Police Department told USA Today. "If you share that you just got a big screen TV or post a photo of a computer you just received as a gift, now everyone knows what's in your home."
"If you're selling it, then it's in your home," Bleak added, according to USA Today. "Guns, TVs, computers, cameras - it all puts people at risk for theft when they list those items for sale online."
