BATON ROUGE - Crowds of shoppers are hitting stores all around the country for Black Friday deals.

Some residents started lining up at stores before dawn in order to be the first ones into the stores. Even though shoppers will be focused on what they're buying, police say residents also need to focus on staying safe to avoid becoming a victim of theft. People should pay extra attention while leaving stores with arms full of valuables.

Residents are also advised to lock car doors and hide purchases from sight if they're going to other stores.  

If you're avoiding in-person shopping to buy items online, there are still scams to watch out for. Don't do your shopping on public Internet and use a protected network if possible. Online shoppers should also use a credit card over a debit card to reduce the risk of having your account compromised.