The obvious tips that you’ve heard at least a thousand times before are to lock your doors and windows, trim your bushes around the home, and to not let newspapers pile up when you’re on vacation; but you’d be surprised as to how many people forget about the little things…
People tend to be too open and personable online, even with strangers. They tell everyone in Facebook and Twitter where they’re going, for how long, blah, blah, blah. The most important thing is to tell as few people as possible (online and offline) that you’re going on vacation, a business trip, or away for a long weekend; this will prevent potential thieves from interpreting your announcement as a free invitation. It’s better to blast all of your social networking friends with trip pictures after the fact when you’re already back home.
An empty home is an inviting one to a burglar. If you make sure that your doorbell works properly it will help protect you when you’re home, as many thieves test doorbells. A working doorbell will also trigger your dog to bark if you’re a dog owner. Dogs can be heard by owners and neighbors if a burglar is checking out your home the day before they attempt to break in. Little yappy dogs tend to be even more of a turn-off because they just don’t stop barking.
When you leave boxes for expensive equipment or appliances out on the curb for the trash man to pick up, thieves already know what’s in your house without looking inside. Some potential intruders may even pick through your trash; always shred important documents, receipts, bills and statements before disposing of them so they are more difficult to read. Throwing out important papers intact could easily lead to identity theft, or they could tell burglars about the kinds of electronics that you have in your home, services you pay for, etc.
One of the worst stupid people tricks is leaving a house key in an obvious place. Leaving your key in the mailbox, under the doormat, on top of the door sill or a fake rock, etc, is too clich; that’s where most intruders would look first. You can have the best door and window locks in the world and even the most advanced security system, but if a criminal has access to a key, 99% of their work is done for them already. So, wrap your house key in foil and place it in a secret spot that only your family knows about. Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s get into the details of home security.
http://hubpages.com/living/How-to-keep-your-home-secure-and-your-property-safe
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