The Winter holidays are special opportunities for giving kind words and special gifts to those dearest to us. Unfortunately, the season is also a yearly opportunity for con artists to set decent folk on tenterhooks as they work to loot hard-earned savings from bank accounts.

Summerville PD records indicate that just this week, a thief tried to raid the bank account of city resident Ashley Mason Kielborn.

After calling city police, Mrs. Kielborn told an officer that she was on her way home from a trip when various online retailers began sending her several courtesy emails confirming purchases that she hadn’t made. Ultimately, only one of the orders went through; that would have been a victory of sorts were the order not for an Apple Macbook, costing Kielborn north of a whopping $1,500.

The SPD’s investigation into the case remains active.

Since most people do at least some of their holiday shopping online, be sure to stay on the lookout for package thieves as well. According to home video security company Blink, “porch pirates” are statistically more likely to strike in rural areas.

Your credit card issuer may offer “purchase protection”, which provides reimbursement for stolen goods under certain circumstances. And if you do find yourself the victim of a package theft, giving the retailer’s customer service a call never hurts. Many companies, especially larger ones have policies that allow for replacing and/or refunding their customers’ stolen purchases.

Check out the “12 Scams of Christmas” by clicking here.