Heading out on the open road for the Easter holidays? Make sure your home is secure with these top tips:
Whenever possible find someone to live in your house while you are away, if this is not possible create the illusion that someone is home.
Two dead giveaways that you are not home include outside lights that are switched on during the day and an accumulation of post or newspapers on your lawn or in your post-box. When criminals see these two signs it is clear to them that no- one is home and your house could become a soft target. Ask a neighbour to pick up the post and newspapers while you are away and set a timer to switch the outside lights on at night time only and to switch them off again in the morning.
When you are about to leave your home to go on holiday make a point of not loading your car where other people can see you. Pull your car into the garage and load suitcases in your car boot behind closed doors rather than allowing the world to see that you are about to leave for an extended period of time.
If you are a member of a security company let them know that you are leaving for a while so that they may patrol your home more often. If you do not belong to a security company, create the perception that you do by putting up security boards outside your home. You can even “install” fake cameras.
Ask your neighbours to keep a close eye on things and to report any strange activity around your home to you immediately.
Be careful of who you tell that you are going on holiday, also don’t mention it on social media and if you do, make sure that your security settings don’t allow for members from the public to see your status updates.
Lock away valuables in a safe or leave it with someone that you trust.
Do not leave any spare keys lying around. If you absolutely have to leave a key for your domestic worker rather leave it with the neighbour.