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THINK LIKE A THIEF
How Social Media Could Make Your Home A Target For Burglars
It’ s summertime, it’ s been a long year at work and you’ re excited to be taking a well-earned week of vacation. So of course it’ s natural that you would like to share this excitement with friends and family, and what better place than on Facebook. What seems like a harmless update, can advertise your weeklong absence to wrong types of people. Career thieves make their living by knowing when people’ s homes are at their most vulnerable. In Nashua New Hampshire a crime ring linked to eighteen robberies was apprehended by police. In just one month they had robbed 18 homes by monitoring Facebook pages and determining when a target would be out of their home. Rather than sitting in a car in the neighborhood to case a break in on someone’ s house, a crafty thief can do this from his home computer on a large scale. Even more dangerous than Facebook are modern day smartphones and certain applications that will broadcast your location to others. One such application is foursquare which allows you to“ check in” to places you visit, such as restaurants and other locations then automatically post that information publically so that friends know what you are up to. The danger with announcing to the world that you are at your favorite burger Joint, is that it lets everyone know where you definitely are not … home. Even worse some people will even“ check in” at their own home which broadcasts your exact address publically as well. Be very cautious about any phone application that wants to use your current location via GPS. Make sure if a program has any features that will broadcast your current location and if so make sure that this feature is disabled. Of course social media isn’ t the only way people can leave their home vulnerable to Burglary, Here are some ways to keep your home safe when on vacation and throughout the year.
Always make your home look occupied, this may mean leaving a couple Lights on, or having them set on timers. If on an extended leave don’ t let deliveries of mail, newspapers, or flyers build up in your mailbox or front yard. Have your post office hold your mail or have a friend drop by to pick up it up for you daily.
Make it hard for a thief to get into your home. Make sure to keep your garage doors closed and locked. All exterior doors need to have highquality Deadbolt locks, Sliding glass doors are especially vulnerable and should be secured with a bar or large dowel rod to keep them from being opened. Also be sure to not only have lockable windows but to actually close and lock them when you leave the house for short periods of time, it only takes a thief a few minutes to pry open an unlocked window and steal thousands of dollars of your possessions, and carry it out using your own luggage.
Secure the outside as well as the inside of your home. Don’ t leave ladders out in the yard or any tool that a thief can use to his advantage to get into your home. Having good outside lighting on a motion detector is recommended as well as a whole house security system, and make sure to actually set the security system even if you are only leaving the house for a short period of time. But most Importantly DO NOT leave keys under doormats, in mailboxes or other“ secret” hiding places, as a professional thief always knows exactly where to look.
So when on vacation be sure to minimize your risk of being targeted by thieves by being careful what you share online. Make your home undesirable to would-be thieves by making it look occupied. Install security features that discourage them from attempting to break in. We at the Bill Flinn Agency wish you a safe and relaxing summer and encourage you to take caution in protecting your home when away. If you would like a free report on how to keep your home safe from thieves feel free to contact us at 412-833-5351 or by using the form at www. billflinnagecy. com
This INdustry INsight was provided by The Bill Flinn Agency.
Bill Flinn Agency Inc
2754 S Park Rd Bethel Park, PA 15102-3858 www. billflinnagency. com
412-833-5351
For the last 40 years The Bill Flinn Agency has been serving the Bethel Park and South Hills communities. Since opening our doors in 1972 our mission has been to treat our customers by the golden rule. Learn more about us at www. billflinnagency. com, or stop by our office on South Park Road in the heart of Bethel.
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