(Photo By Flickr User z287marc)

Police warn empty boxes can lure thieves into your home.

A lot of big-ticket items are gifted during the holidays, but putting them out on the curbside with the rest of your recycling might be a welcome mat for thieves.

Sgt. Adam Yates of the Quincy Police Department in Quincy, IL, said there are proper ways to go about getting rid of these boxes.

Yates said you should always break boxes down before putting them out on the curb because, if you don’t, you may draw attention to your house by telling thieves that those items are inside.

Yates also said it’s not just bigger items like TV boxes that you should be careful when throwing out. He explained,

“The smaller items are easier to take, there’s a difference between carrying a PlayStation out of a house and carrying a 65 inch TV out of a house.”

Yates also said, if something is stolen from your home, having the serial number can be a big help.

“If you have the serial number of an item, it makes it a lot easier for us to track. If we find one a couple months later and we run the serial number, we’ll know whether it was stolen. If it is, we’ll know who it belongs to.”

Yates also warned about leaving things on the curb for too long. He said to only put things out on pick-up day that way people aren’t driving by seeing what may be inside your house for days on end.

(Information courtesy of wgem.com)