Christmas is a busy time of year, buying presents, spending time with the family and visiting christmas markets. But did you know that the holiday season can be a busy time for thieves? At this time of year, you are likely to keep valuable gifts at home unattended whilst partaking in the local festivities. This makes it even more important to keep your home safe.
Here are our top tips to keep your home safe this Christmas:
Security
Make your home less attractive to thieves, consider using CCTV, alarms and outside sensor lights. This way, it is very unlikely that thieves will approach your property as there is a much higher risk of being caught. Alternatively, you can make the inside of your home look occupied by using a timer so that lights come on at appropriate times. Try using a fake TV light, this way if anyone approaches your property, it will look like people are home so thieves will stay away.
Christmas presents
If you leave christmas presents under the tree you're practically inviting burglars into your home, especially if your christmas tree can be seen from the window. When no one is home, put the presents out of sight in a cupboard or upstairs, this way if someone passes your property and happened to look in, they won't see your valuables on display.
Social Media Awareness
The internet is a huge source of information, we would advise people not to publicly share any travel plans on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or any other social media website, especially if your home will be left unattended. Most people's privacy settings on social media are set to public, meaning that anyone anywhere can see who you are, what you post and more worryingly, if you are home.
Other things to consider
- Don’t run any outdoor Christmas lights through window cracks as it provides an easy entry point for burglars to enter your home.
- If your home is empty, ask neighbours to post any letters that get stuck in your letterbox so burglars don’t realise the property is empty.
- Make sure that all Christmas lights are safe to use. You don’t want to switch on your new christmas lights, go out and come back to find that your lights were faulty and have caused a fire.
From everyone at Shelton & Lines we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! If you are looking for Property advice in the Worcester area, please don’t hesitate to contact us today.