Holiday Safety Tips: 5 Things to Do to Prevent Burglary

Burglar Holding Presents

It’s the time to be merry and share in the good wishes until the worst happens: Your house is burglarized and not only your Christmas gifts are gone but your jewels and the extra cash you had laying around is missing too. Unfortunately, this is something that happens more often than not. But, what can you do to keep burglars away from your home? With these Holiday safety tips, you’ll be able to keep your possessions protected from theft.

1. Keep the lights on

The first sign for burglars of knowing you’re not home is having the lights switched off. Keep them on, not just the ones you have in the front yard for decoration, but also in your living-room or kitchen.

These days, with intelligent home systems available, you can even set a timer for the lights to turn on and off throughout the day. If you don’t have any of these systems, one of the simplest holiday safety tips to follow is to install motion sensors so that the lights turn on when movement is detected within a certain perimeter of your home.

2. Hide your shopping bags and gifts

It’s very common to put a Christmas tree by the living-room window. It looks festive, and it lets your neighbors know you’re ready for the Holiday season. But when you add the gifts under the tree, you’re quickly sending a signal to potential burglars to break into your home and steal your belongings.

Although the tree may look a little empty and a little less festive, keeping your gifts out of sight will remove any possible temptation from burglars.

3. Lock all your doors

You’d be surprised at the number of burglaries that happen because homeowners didn't lock the back door but, unfortunately, this is something that happens rather frequently and because it gets overlooked so often, we’re adding it to this list of holiday safety tips.

Before leaving your home and checking all the lights, be sure to do a walk through and lock your back door, garage door, balcony door, bathroom window, and any other entryway in your home. If you have an alarm system, activate it. If you don’t, ask a neighbor to check the mail and walk around your front yard periodically until your return home.

4. Don’t share too much on social media

You’re excited the lights are up in your front yard and you start snapping photos of the beautiful decorations and sharing on Instagram and Facebook. Potential burglars are watching and social media is one of the easiest ways for them to find out what you’re up to.

As humans, we’re used to a certain routine every day and the more you share on social media, the more they will learn about you and your habits.

If you do share content on Facebook or other social networks, be sure to change the privacy settings so that only your friends and those who follow you know your whereabouts. Be wary of people you don’t know who request to follow you on social networks. You never know what their intentions might be.

5. Protect your home

No matter how cautious you are and how much you prepare to keep your home safe, if a burglar wants to break into your home, they’ll eventually find a way. This is why protecting it from theft is one of the best decisions and investments you could make in your lifetime.

Investing in a homeowners or renter’s insurance plan is probably the best gift you could give yourself this holiday season. Not only will your home be protected in case of burglary, but you will have the peace of mind that your loved ones are also safe.

With Infinity, you can rest assured that we will always look for the best homeowner and renter’s insurance plans for you. Call one of our friendly agents at 1-800-INFINITY or request a quote online by visiting our website.

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