VIDEO: Holiday Home Security

LOUISVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – Delivery companies are loading up and heading out each day, with gifts, but those boxes on your porch may be drawing the eye of a thief.

It happens every year.

Boxes arrive and sometimes disappear before the homeowner gets home.

There are simple ways to make sure your home is safe, with your newly bought gifts inside.

During the Christmas season, gifts of all sizes may arrive at your house when you aren’t home.

“Your residents during Christmas season, they need to keep big items like boxes, Christmas boxes, where they have TVs, bikes, different things like that. Don’t let the public know that’s what they got for Christmas,” said Winston County Chief Deputy, Keith Alexander.

Some homes can be equipped with security systems, but there are cheap alternatives to keep your home secure.

“Have good locks on your doors; have motion detectors on your houses and your lights,” explained Alexander. “Also, have your shrubs cut back, where you can see out and people can’t see in. Let people think, ‘Well, someone might be home.'”

In recent years, social media has become a popular way to share travel stories.

Law enforcement advises people wait until they return from the trip to post make a post.

“Don’t put it on social media, Facebook and all ‘We’re going to be in the mountains during Christmas.’ People are bad about doing stuff like that. Burglaries… People look at things like that on Facebook,” said Alexander.

To give Winston County homeowners peace of mind, deputies are always willing to give houses a quick look to make sure everything is ok.

“People call us and say we might be out of town at certain times during the week or something.” said Alexander. “They say ‘Can you come by and do a safety check on our house?’ We do that. We go ride around the house, be seen around that area, make sure the doors are secure and someone hasn’t broken into the house.”

If you have big ticket items, like a TV or computer, the sheriff recommends dropping the boxes off at a public dumpster instead of advertising your new gifts on the curb.