Proud owners of new (and still relatively expensive) HD sets are being warned not to involuntarily "advertise" their good fortune this holiday season to a very special target audience: thieves looking through your trash!
The National Crime Prevention Council warns that criminals often cruise neighborhoods around the holidays looking for evidence of new HDTVs, computers, Blu-ray Disc players, and other popular holiday presents. And nothing says "I have a new HD set inside so please come and steal it from me while I'm gone" more than a huge empty cardboard box down by the curb with "HDTV" printed in big block letters (often in bright red) for all to see. Given the sizes of many HD panels these days, those "ad placards" disguised as boxes can be nearly impossible to miss
And small towns and cities are not immune. The local police in Muskogee, Okla., advise new HD owners to break down big boxes and place them in regular trash cans or large heavy-duty plastic trash bags out of sight of passers-by, according to the Muskogee Phoenix.
Better yet, if storage space allows, save the HD set boxes and all the Styrofoam braces and wedges that came with the new DTV unit. It provides the best packaging available if and when it comes time to move to another location.
