- Set your lights on timers to go on and off at different times in different rooms, preferably when they would when you are home.
- Create the sound of someone at home by programming or setting a time for your radio, sound system, or television to turn on and off.
- Leave a car in the driveway – even better, have a close family member, friend, or neighbor park there or move it from side to side occasionally.
- If you normally leave a hose uncoiled in the yard or a few toys around – do so. The idea is to look like things are normal!
- Consider your windows. Should you leave your curtains or blinds closed — or open? You may think closing your curtains will prevent people from peering inside your home. However, closed curtains also stop those who aim to help — the police, your neighbors, or friends — from seeing inside your house. So, leave your curtains exactly as you usually keep them when you are at home. Remember – you want to create the illusion that things are normal. Of course, never leave expensive items, like jewelry or computers, out where they are visible from the window.
- Keep the outside neat. If you are going on an extended trip, arrange to have your lawn mowed. Nothing signals “not home” stronger than an unkempt yard, especially one that is normally regularly manicured.
- Run by the post office (or fill out the online form) to ask them to hold your mail. Cancel any deliveries scheduled for that week. Or ask a trusted friend or neighbor to collect them for you while away.
- Stow away your valuables and important papers. Lock up any valuable jewelry, deeds, titles, and small electronic devices. Thieves want to get in and out fast, carrying as many valuables as possible, so things that are small and easily transported are targets. If you don’t have a safety deposit box, store these types of items in a fireproof lockbox. Great places to hide the lockbox are in children’s bedrooms or playrooms, laundry room, garage, or the kitchen. Thieves will look in master bedrooms and living spaces.
- Remove Your Spare Key(s). If a criminal figures out you’re away on vacation, it’s likely that they will first check your porch and obvious locations for a spare key. That plastic rock or hiding place under a mat/flowerpot won’t fool them.
- Keep quiet on social media. Don’t announce you are leaving or your whereabouts right before or during your vacation. Many of us enjoy keeping up with friends and family on platforms such as Facebook or Instagram. The perceived anonymity of the Internet can encourage us to share personal information without fully realizing that there could be strangers viewing our daily musings. So try to avoid posting pictures and updates showing you at locations away from home until you are home.
- Be careful what you say on your voicemail or email auto-response. People trying to reach you don’t need to know that you’re out of town — they just need to know that you can’t respond right now.
- Home Security Company and double-check that your door and window alarms are activated before you leave. Also, leave a house key and the code with someone you trust and provide the police and alarm company with their name and phone number.
- Consider adding cameras or a video doorbell to your home security system so you can check on your home while you are away.