1. Lock your home and automate your security system.
2. Inform your neighbours about your trip.
3. Make the house and garden look lived in, not abandoned. Make sure your lawn is manicured before you leave, if you will be gone more than 2 weeks so it will not look overgrown before you return.
4. Make sure all windows are closed and locked. Activate deadlocks on all doors. Don’t forget to lock garages and sheds.
5. If you have a monitored electronic alarm system, it is critical to let base station know when you’re going away; and to give them contact details for key holders in case the alarm goes off.
6. Set timers to turn certain lights on for a couple of hours in the evening, or to turn the television on for certain programs.
7. Get a neighbour or friend to clear the mailbox and newspapers. If possible, also have thempark a car in the driveway.
8. Don’t leave a spare key under the mat or in another ‘secret’ hiding place.
9. Store your valuables in a safety deposit box.
10. Lock your power box with an electricity authority lock (to which you and the electricity company have a key) so that alarm systems can’t be cut off from the power supply.
