Protect Your Home While You Are Away

Unfortunately, no one is completely immune from theft. Whether you’re looking to protect your home while you are away on vacation or simply away at work, your first line of defence is to thwart burglars.

Use these suggestions to help protect your home while you are away:

• Install motion sensor lighting around your home and garage.
• Place automatic timers on your lights and set them for different times for different rooms.
• Do not leave your valuables such as jewellery, art work or electronics sitting out in plain view. Hide these items in inconspicuous places such as old laundry detergent boxes.
• Place “Beware of Dog” and home alarm signs in your yard. Even if you do not have a dog or an alarm, this may deter potential thieves from trying to enter.
• Alert friends and neighbours when you will be away for an extended period of time so that they can look out for suspicious behaviour.
• Have a neighbour shovel snow or mow your grass if you will be away for a few days. This will give the impression that someone is at home.
• Put a hold on your newspaper if you go on vacation.
• Never leave information about how long you will be gone on social media or your answering machine.

Safety First

Most burglaries do not occur in the dead of night like most people think. Instead, they tend to occur between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. when people are at work. Thieves also strike when homes show obvious signs that no one is there. So, while you are at work, always keep your doors and windows locked. Also, if someone calls you and claims to be seeking information for a survey, do not provide information about your schedule or daily life. They can use this information to decipher when you will be away.