How to secure your home when traveling for the holidays.

Install a strong deadbolt

Mechanical or electronic, a strong deadbolt is an important way to help secure the entryways to your home. This includes the back door and side entrances as well as the front door. In more than half of home break-ins, burglars entered through either the front or back door.¹

Be smart about your locks

The Schlage Encode™ Smart WiFi Deadbolt works with Key by Amazon, and Prime members in select areas can have packages delivered right inside the front door, helping to keep porch pirates at bay. According to a 2017 study, almost 26 million Americans had packages taken from their front porch. Another 23 million had decorations stolen or vandalized.²

Keep an eye on things

Video doorbells and motion-activated cameras connected to your home security system are popular and effective options for monitoring your home from anywhere and giving you peace of mind. Approximately 60 percent of burglars said that the presence of an alarm causes them to target a different home.³

Shine light on your home

Any illumination outdoors, even holiday lights, can help keep your home secure. A working porch light or motion sensors on the garage can deter burglars. Tools, bikes and cars – all items stored in the garage – are among the most commonly stolen items during a break-in.⁴

Look lived in

Thieves are more likely to try a break-in when they think no one is home. Fool them by setting lights on an automatic timer, playing music or the TV, and using an Alexa Skill that provides a “soundtrack” to make the home sound occupied. Eighty-five percent of residential burglaries occur when the home is empty.⁵

Don’t turn a blind eye

Smart blinds can reduce the risk of intruders breaking in just because they see something they like through the window. Contact sensors on windows can also alert you if the glass breaks. Smart window dressings can be expensive but so is being robbed. The average value lost during a burglary is $2,416.⁴

Detect other dangers

Sometimes the risk comes from inside. Pair your smartphone with compatible safety devices that detect and alert you to smoke, flooding and more. There are more house fires in January than in any other month.⁶

Find more security tips at our blog.

Sources

1. https://www.asecurelife.com/security-infographic/
2. https://www.insurancequotes.com/home/porch-pirates-package-thieves-house-fires-holiday-120117
3. https://airef.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/BurglarSurveyStudyFinalReport.pdf
4. https://safeatlast.co/blog/burglary-statistics/
5. https://www.hsmc-ul.com/alarms/crime-statistics
6. https://www.safewise.com/resources/security-stats-facts/