City police have this advice for shoppers who want to keep their holiday purchases: put your junk in the trunk.

That's the best way to thwart thieves and scammers who exploit the season, police said.

At a news conference yesterday, Pittsburgh police Officer James Snyder urged people to park in well-lit areas, to enter and exit their cars with caution and to always lock their doors and roll up their windows.

He said drivers should never leave purses, cash, cameras and laptops or other electronics inside their car. Instead, they should take valuable items with them or secure them in their trunk.

In particular, drivers should never leave their GPS devices in plain view.

"Your junk is someone else's Christmas present now," he said.

Computer Crimes Detective Mike Overholt gave several tips to prevent identity theft, detailing some of the e-mail scams that are circulating right now.

Employment scams are particularly common, he said. A scammer will solicit people to apply for a job via e-mail, then harvest their personal information from their resume.

Another common scam e-mail claims to be a missive from the Internal Revenue Service and asks the recipient to provide personal information, including bank account details, on an attached form.

Detective Overholt said anyone who receives such an e-mail should read it closely, and particularly question it if the writer uses poor English.

He also said people should not respond to e-mails from free account providers such as Yahoo if the writer claims to work for an employer or agency.

"If you think you're a victim of a scam, call the police," he said.

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