Here are our Top 10 Home and Business Security Tips for Summer. There aren’t many downsides to summer, but if there IS a downside, it’s that homes and businesses are more at risk to break-ins and burglaries. With the warmer weather it’s easier for family members to leave doors and windows opened and unlocked. It’s common for more people to travel and be away from their homes during summer. So here are our Top 10 Home and Business Security Tips for Summer (Part 1) to help you think like a burglar so that you can keep your home and business safe and less attractive to burglars.
Top 10 Security Tips For Summer:
1. If You were a burglar… Take a good look at your home as if you were a burglar; be objective. Do you have tall hedges that burglars might find inviting to hide behind and out of view of neighbors? Are there tree limbs that might allow a burglar access to your upstairs windows? Are tools and ladders put away and out of reach of prowlers? Do you have any accessible dog/pet doors that a burglar can either crawl through or reach through to unlock a door? Be creative and get sneaky. Think like a burglar might think.
2. What did your mom tell you? Don’t open the door to strangers.
It’s not required that you open the door to a salesperson. It’s common for burglars to dress as sales people in order to scout different neighborhoods to see when residents are away from home, or when businesses are less busy. If you do open the door, it’s also a great way for a burglar to scout the insides of your home, to see what you own and the layout of your house. Summer is a common time for “ruse and distraction burglaries,” when one burglar holds your attention while another rips you off. We’re not saying never open your door to strangers, but it might be smart to really double think it, especially if you’re home alone.
3. Cars, keys, keychains, common sense. Do you keep a key hidden under the flower pot next to the front door? Or do you keep it in a hidden key box somewhere on your car? You’ll need to be a bit more clever. Car windows are often left open during the hot summer, but be careful that valuable items are not inside the vehicle. Also be sure that if you have a garage door opener in your car that you remove it. You wouldn’t want a burglar to have access to your garage, would you? And make sure that you don’t have an address anywhere on your keys or keychain. It’s an open invitation to visit your home or business if a burglar should get a hold of your keys.
4. Be Neighborly. It’s important to know your neighbors, for they can be a intregal asset in helping to make sure that your home and place of business are safe. Let neighbors know when you’ll be leaving town and ask them to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity or noise while you are away. If you normally park in the driveway and your vehicle will be gone, it can be a surefire sign to intruders that you are away from home; ask a neighbor to park in your driveway while you are away to make it appear that someone is at your home. It is also important, if you have had a break-in or burglary to file a police report and notify your neighbors of what has happened. This will allow them to be aware of what is going on in their community so that they can keep their eyes out for one another, and for their own property and belongings.
5. Look like you’re home: Lawn, mail, newspapers, and social media! You don’t want to announce to the world that you’re away from home. There are many mistakes we make that give hints, and often times flat out announce that we’ll be away from home or our business. Cancel deliveries or ask a friend or neighbor to collect packages and/or mail. And please, don’t mention on Facebook or Twitter that you’re going on that familiy vacation that you’ve been planning all year, save your announcement and pictures until AFTER you have returned!