Check out how you can protect yourself and your home with the following tips!
Don’t Show Off!
Leaving any objects lying outside your house, or even in sight from the road, can unintentionally lure thieves into your property. Â When purchasing a new TV or other expensive electronics or appliances, avoid leaving the boxes outside your house. Â Additionally, keep your curtains shut whenever possible in order to avoid having expensive items in sight from outside your property.
Misleading Burglars
When burglars are aware that someone is at home, they are less likely to attempt to break in. In fact, most break-ins occur during the day when people are at work. For this reason, when you leave the house, create an illusion that someone’s still there.  This can be done in a number of ways. For example, by leaving a light or television on, or even by leaving some music playing.  Ideally, make sure you’ve installed long-lasting lightbulbs that are better for the environment. This is done in addition to having a burglar alarm with a visible sounder. The majority of residential thieves stay away from houses with such alarms.
Don’t Leave a Spare Key Out!
It may seem like a good idea to leave a spare key hidden under a flower pot or doormat in case you get locked out of your house. However, that’s an open invitation for a burglar to walk into your property without any difficulty. Â You could easily be spotted retrieving your hidden key at some point, which will give away your hiding place. Â It is also important to never put any identifying information on your house keys because if you lose them, and someone else finds them, it would be fairly easy to trace them back to your home and break in.
Secure Your Yard
Tall shrubs and overgrown trees are welcome hiding places for criminals to wait until the coast is clear to get into your house. This does not mean that you must cut down every plant in your garden, however it is important to avoid having low shrubs in front of any windows which provide thieves with a potential hiding place if they attempt to break in. Additionally, chop any tall tree branches that reach upper story windows. Â Regularly trimming larger bushes and tree branches also eliminates dark shadows that help hide intruders.
Make sure you’re protected before a vacation
Residential crime spikes during summer as people set off on vacations. It is important not to leave any signs of an empty house as this will make your house a target for thieves.  If you have a fixed telephone line, avoid putting your voicemail on to alert callers that you have gone on holiday. Also, make sure that your alarm system is set up to call numbers which are immediately answered, such as that of the police, or even get your security company to monitor it for you.
Stay Aware!
Although it’s nice to know you have people watching out for you in your neighbourhood, you also need to watch out for yourself. Keep your identity and any travel plans on the down low.  Before leaving on vacation, don’t talk about it openly in public or post your plans on social media as a stranger could be taking note. Also, keep yourself updated about any crime in your area.
