The Yuletide season is upon us and there is no doubt that there will be more crooks than shoppers on the streets this year, but that may, almost certainly, have always been the case.

The responsibility, therefore, lies on you, the readers, to be careful - be on the lookout when you meander your way through large crowds, or even just wait in a baggage claim line this Christmas. If possible, try not to keep money or other valuables in the rear pockets. This may make for easy pickings for the criminals, pun intended. Safely placing things in your front pockets may provide more security.

Secondly, if you are in the business of travelling around with your knapsack, you may want to wear it in front of you when going through the rush. Nothing would be worse that returning home to a bag empty of its contents.

On the topic of cellphones, we have all seen the countless stories published in THE STAR regarding the thefts so, especially in this busy season, you may not want to flaunt yours at will, as harsh as it may sound.

And, not to bash anybody, but we have all had the experience of an enthusiastic "salesman" inviting us to a store down some alley, right? Well, this season, we should be careful in this regard, because there will, no doubt, be a lot of wolves parading in sheep's clothing.

We urge readers to be careful in the weeks ahead and take the precautions to ensure that your Christ-mas will, indeed, be a merry one.