No time is more exciting for a burglar than Christmas.  Not only are people often out or away from their homes, but they know there is often extra “loot” around in the form of gifts and presents. Here are some ideas to help keep your home safe during the holiday season.

Watch those packages

With the dramatic increase in the number of people doing online shopping rather than heading to the stores, your UPS and mailman may be cursing you.  (A tip would be nice). Other than that, there are boxes everywhere.  During the holidays you may even have multiple deliveries each day.  If you can, designate a place that is more private to have your packages left.  Even better, try to have your packages shipped to an alternate address, like your workplace, if you are not going to be around the house.  Packages left unattended and in plain sight make tempting targets.

Make the house looks occupied

Make sure your driveway and sidewalk are shoveled.  Leave some lights on – better if you can stagger them with a timer or other device. That way, if someone is watching your house, it looks like somebody is home and moving around the house. Bonus if you know you’re not going to be there and you can line up a neighbor or neighbor’s kid to shovel out for you.

Sound like you’re home

Noise is good too.  What can deter a break-in better than having the potential intruder hear things going on in your house like somebody is there?  With all the remote technology available now, it’s easy to turn on appliances with your cell phone that make it seem as if someone is there: TVs, radios, or stereos; all are good.

Lock everything

You’re bound to have valuable things lying around everywhere.  Paperwork with personal information is just the ticket for somebody looking to steal identities.  If you have safe in your house, make sure your important stuff is in there and locked up.  Even a drawer or file cabinet that locks is an extra deterrent.

Don’t forget the outside either.  That tool shed and garage is likely home to some expensive tools or equipment you don’t want to have to replace.  Make sure you have locks for all of them.  An extra one for the yard’s fence isn’t a bad idea either!

Try to break in

Even more frustrating than locking yourself out of the house is not being able to get back in.  Of course, that usually happens when you go out to grab the paper or call the dog.  This time, be your own burglar.  Try to get into your house after taking all the security precautions at your disposal.  If you can get in, odds are somebody else can as well.

Don’t unintentionally advertise

As much fun as it is to share photos of our trips or family get-togethers live in the moment, resist the temptation to share it on social media.  Particular at the holiday season, monitoring a household’s activity on social media is one way of identifying an empty home.

 Install a professional security system

Safer than all of these things and offering more customizable options is installing your own home security system.  Basco Security offers a variety of different customizable systems for every need.  If a home system is on your Christmas List contact us!

 

Happy Holidays!