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If you’re planning on jetting off for your holiday soon, you may want to reconsider leaving the curtains undrawn and keeping the lights off. These are just two of the most obvious signs that your home is vacant.
Burglars and thieves are more likely to strike when they think nobody is in. You need to give the impression that this is not the case and the only way to do this is by understanding how to avoid leaving behind obvious signs of your absence.
Curtains undrawn at night
If you leave your curtains undrawn, you may as well hang up a ‘welcome’ sign for all burglars in the area. A way around this is to reach out to a trusted neighbour or family member. Ask them to visit your home and draw the curtains at night to give the impression that there is still someone inside.
No car in the driveway
Another obvious sign that nobody is home is the absence of your car. If a thief has been eying your property, they will be familiar with your vehicle. Once they see that it isn’t there, they will assume you have left the property and may attempt to break in. Again, this is where you can seek help from your neighbour. Ask them to park their car in your driveway to help deter potential burglars.
Lights Off
As far as burglars are aware, a house in darkness is a house for the taking. The Police often advise homeowners to use an automatic timer for their houselights. This is also advised for porch and outdoor lighting, because burglars will assume you are home and are unlikely to attempt a break-in.
Unsecure Windows
Burglars often break into homes through the back windows. They can easily smash the glass and cross the threshold without any hiccup. You can use various security items to help ensure the safety of your home. This includes burglar alarms, CCTV and installing domestic roller shutters on all your windows.
Expensive packaging
If you have purchased expensive goods such as a laptop or television, make sure that you break up the packaging and ‘get rid of the evidence’. Crime Stoppers state that a tell-tale sign you have valuable items in the house is leaving the packaging outside where potential burglars can see it. This will only alert them to the fact you have valuables inside and will tempt them to make a forced entry trying to retrieve these items for themselves.
Social media updates
When you have an upcoming holiday, it can be tempting to let all your Facebook friends know about it. However, burglars often use social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook to keep track of potential targets. Once they have seen your post about an upcoming trip away from home, you put yourself right in front of their sights and you become an instant target.
The post Leaving Your Home Vulnerable: What Are The Tell Tale Signs That You’re Away On Holiday? appeared first on Pommie Travels.
Source: pommietravels.com