If you plan to be away for the summer or on weekends, please review the following safety tips. Burglars know how to identify an unoccupied home, but these tips may prevent you from becoming a victim!

Stop mail deliveries with your local post office or have a neighbor collect your mail. Having an overstuffed mailbox is a sign that you are not home.

Have a neighbor collect any flyers, newspapers or magazines that are dropped off at your door.

Ask a neighbor to utilize at least one of your garbage cans and to put it out the night before collection, as you would do if you were home. Remember to ask them to pull back the empty can.

If the weather is warm, leave one air conditioner on the “fan” setting, in order to avoid a high electrical bill – especially overnight. If you feel uncomfortable doing so with a window unit, then you can leave a pail filled with water outside underneath your unit. This is to make it look like your unit was just turned off. Closed windows and no air conditioning on a hot day is a sign that no one is home.

Have timers turn your lights on and off. A house without any lights on is a sign you may not be home.

Keep window shades slightly open but not enough for someone to see that the home is unoccupied.

If you have a driveway, ask a neighbor to utilize it.

If you have an alarm system, make sure to use it. Give a trusted neighbor a key to your home and your alarm number, in order to shut it if your alarm is faulty.

Make sure all windows and doors are locked and secure.

If you have a camera system, please make sure it records.

ABSOLUTELY DO NOT KEEP ANY VALUABLES (JEWLERY, CASH, ETC) IN YOUR MASTER BEDROOM OR HOME OFFICE. THESE ARE THE FIRST AND SOMETIMES ONLY PLACES BURGLARS RANSACK.

Leave a few radios on in the house. (Kitchen and master bedroom.)

Be cautious when posting on social media about your vacation – burglars can sometimes target a home based on a post that indicates the owner is out of town.

If you have outside lights, make sure to set them to go on at night.

If you don’t have an alarm, outside lighting, window gates, etc. and would like to upgrade your security options you may call your local precinct’s Crime Prevention Officer to get a FREE security survey.

(YWN Desk – NYC)