Popularity with online holiday shopping has increased over the past several years and the Covid-19 pandemic is expected to cause an even larger increase this year. Cherokee County Sheriff David Groves said he wants to provide reminders to help residents keep their packages and financial accounts secured.

If having a package delivered, consider having it shipped to your work, asking a neighbor to pick it up until you arrive home, or request the delivery driver to place it out of sight. Be sure to keep an eye on your bank and credit card accounts for unusual transactions. Use a secure network to conduct transactions, not a public WiFi network, and if given the option, take the extra time to enable the two-step authentication feature, which will send a code to your cell phone to ensure you are the same person attempting to make an online purchase.