You may be at risk if you own anything of value. It used to be that high dollar items were most likely to be stolen but that’s not so anymore. From personal theft to shoplifting and even employee theft, you may be shocked to learn what’s hot this year.

Imagine coming home and finding your Christmas tree and all of your gifts missing. For one family in New York, this was not just an imagination, it was a reality. These types of thefts are happening all across America. Christmas gifts are being taken away from small children who had very little to begin with and cannot afford to buy more. Packages are being swiped from porches. Single trees are being taken from residences and dozens of trees are being taken from tree farms. One tree farmer said the last time trees were stolen from him was in 1978 when there was a similar recession. You could call it a Christmas tree crime spree.

Businesses are seeing an increase in employee theft. From fictitious sales transactions to theft of office equipment and retail products, research shows that some employees have resorted to theft to deal with financial hardship. What may be the most troubling is the most trusted employees are often the ones getting away with theft. According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, “About 20% of employers polled last month said workplace theft has become a moderate to very big problem recently.”

Shoplifting is increasing by the day. The latest numbers show that shoplifting has increased by 10 to 20 percent this year. Reports show that one in 11 people shoplift. This is not something to take lightly; its costing stores $35 million every day.

As of last year, auto theft had decreased for four consecutive years according to the Federal Bureau of Investigations. Although, the official statistics are not in yet, we already have reports of an increase of auto theft for 2008. The holidays are the most common time for auto thieves to strike. With the cold set in people are leaving their vehicles unattended to warm up making their vehicle an easy target. Some are installing GPS vehicle recovery devices and others are just taking their chances.

Theft is always higher during an economic downturn and during the holidays. Whether you are away, at home or at the office, we would like to remind you to be especially careful and secure your property this holiday season.