3 common home security 'tips' are an invitation to burglars: here's what security experts advise instead
We love Christmas, but unfortunately, so do burglars. All those iPhones and earbuds under the tree make the festive season a busy time for seasoned thieves and opportunists. Surprisingly, many common security precautions can actually alert burglars to the fact that your home is empty.
“Unfortunately, circumstances around this time of year can create an environment ripe for theft across the country,” says Glenn Flannery, Commercial Director at Spy Alarms. “Homes filled with valuable gifts and others left empty as we head off on holiday can be very tempting to intruders, especially with longer nights providing cover.”
Christmas can be a particularly tempting time for criminals; not only due to those expensive presents and gadgets but also because the busier social engagements and festive family visits can mean your home is left vacant more often. Quotezone.co.uk recently analysed the latest Freedom of Information data from police forces across England, revealing over 100,000 residential burglaries in the past year.
“8 of the top 20 most burgled locations are in London”
Being burgled is a stressful experience at any time of year, but Christmas burglaries can be particularly traumatic. Regardless of what items are stolen, the feeling of violation can make you feel unsafe in your own home – it’s hard to fully relax in your house once you know a stranger has forced their way in.
While burglaries can occur anywhere, there is certainly more risk in larger cities. Nigel Standen from Spy Alarms says: “The UK's holiday crime landscape reveals significant regional disparities, with London emerging as the most vulnerable area. Eight of the top 20 most burgled locations are in London, collectively accounting for nearly 10,000 burglaries over the festive season.”
But there are ways to deter criminals and protect your treasured possessions over the festive season. Here are the key prevention measures security experts advise this Christmas…
Beat the burglars with these 8 simple steps
Don’t close your curtains
Many people imagine that burglaries are mainly a night-time occurrence, but in fact most break-ins occur during the day when criminals can be more confident that no one is home. There’s a long-held belief that you should close your curtains or blinds while you’re away over the Christmas period or on holiday, thinking that this will prevent opportunists from peeping through your window to see what’s inside. But this approach can signal to criminals that nobody’s home. It’s not unusual to leave bedroom curtains closed, but if your kitchen blind is down during the day, it’s an obvious giveaway.
“Christmas is a time when homes are most at risk. With properties often left empty and gifts on display, burglars see opportunity.”
Yvonne Keal, Product Expert at Hillarys
Rather than keeping your curtains closed while you’re away, it’s a better idea to ensure that any expensive or high value items, such as laptops or games consoles, are out of sight or stored in a home safe. Most criminals want to act fast and leave without being noticed. So while your large flat-screen TV is unlikely to be taken by an opportunistic thief, smaller, portable items are most at risk.
Yvonne Keal, Product Expert at Hillarys recommends using smart tech to deter potential thieves: “To help protect your home, I recommend installing smart blinds that can be scheduled to open and close automatically – even when you're away. This creates the illusion of occupancy and reduces visibility into your home.”
And remember, even if Christmas presents are already wrapped, they’re still a tempting prize for burglars. Nigel Standen recommends keeping presents hidden: “Wait to leave presents under the tree until Christmas Day; keep them out of sight from windows to avoid attracting thieves."
Don’t just leave the lights on
Just like closing all your curtains, leaving your lights on can also be a signal that you’re not home. It might seem like a good idea to deter nighttime thieves, but you wouldn’t normally leave your main lights on throughout the daytime if you were home.
Serious criminals will watch a house to monitor activity before a break-in. This can be as simple as walking or driving past, so if nothing changes over a couple of days your tactic of leaving the lights on could effectively be giving criminals the green light.
Helen Rolph, home insurance expert at Quotezone.co.uk warns that darker evenings in autumn and winter can make homes more vulnerable to break-ins: “England faces over 100,000 residential burglaries annually, with a spike in burglaries in early autumn.”
When used correctly, lighting can be a great deterrent. Instead of leaving main lights on permanently while you’re away, consider using timers or smart lights to turn them on at times when you would naturally put the lights on.
You can use simple plug timers to turn lamps on at specified pre-programmed times or use smart timers that you can control with your phone when away from your home. You could also use these to turn on a talk radio station to make it appear as though someone is at home.
For more control, Hayley Brown, smart home expert at AO.com recommends investing in some smart tech: “Using smart lights to turn on and off at realistic times can work wonders to making your home look like its being lived in. It’s the ultimate deterrent, so try to stagger timings between your living room, kitchen and even landing to keep up this illusion.
“You could even run a smart plug or two to your TV on an evening schedule so there’s some background noise and TV glare to boot.”
Outdoor sensor lights can also be an effective prevention measure to stop night-time thieves creeping around your house looking for entry points. Hayley recommends using motion-sensor floodlights on the drive – these will make your home much more secure under the spotlight and when it’s being recorded.
Be savvy with your home security
New tech means there are now home security options to suit all budgets. Security cameras that will alert you and show you any detected motion on your smartphone are available from as little as £20, as well as multi-sensor systems from between £50-100. Fully monitored camera systems will set you back substantially more but even a video doorbell can be a deterrent to would-be thieves.
The fact that you can now monitor your security cameras on your mobile phone can really give you peace of mind when you’re away, says Hayley from AO: “Home security cameras are a great way to keep an eye on your home over Christmas, even if you’re 3,000 miles away.”
‘Prevention is about making your home a harder target, especially during the festive season.’
Yvonne Keal, Product Expert at Hillarys
Hayley recommends turning on your notifications so you can keep track of what’s going on through your mobile phone. “You should also try to limit the number of blind spots from coverage – be mindful of shrubs and if the side of your home has an alley.”
Tech advances have not only had an impact on price but also on size. This means that most modern systems don’t have an alarm box on the side of the house or a big CCTV style camera. If you do still have these attached to your house, rather than acting as a deterrent they can indicate to thieves that your security system hasn’t been kept up to date, making your home a potential target.
Check and check again…
By far the most important thing you can do to prevent burglaries is ensure you’re not giving thieves easy access. While you may remember to check your doors before going away on a holiday, you might forget to check every single window if you’re just going away for one night.
Thieves are far more likely to act if they discover an unlocked door, window or garage. According to Helen Rolph, most burglaries are committed by opportunistic thieves, taking advantage of a vulnerable situation.
Breaking a window or forcing a door open could raise the attention of neighbours, so Helen recommends getting into the habit of checking that all exterior doors and windows are locked every time the house is left unoccupied.
It’s important to note that most insurance companies won’t pay out if there are no signs of forced entry to an unoccupied home, so try to allow that extra bit of time to do one final check before you leave – or that last-minute rush could turn out to be very costly.
Helen advises: “If you have a burglar alarm, be careful to update your policy correctly. Some insurance providers will ask if the alarm is also monitored – inaccurate details could void your policy.”
Keep your keys safe
As well as ensuring your doors and windows are locked and in good condition, you should also make sure to remove any keys from the inside of your locks.
Many people leave their window keys in the lock for convenience or even mistakenly think a key on the inside will make it harder to break in from the outside – but this can make it easier for skilled thieves to open certain types of locks.
Similarly, don’t leave your car keys out on display, and certainly don’t leave them near your front door. A common tactic by thieves is to ‘fish’ car keys with a piece of wire going through your letterbox – even when you’re in your home.
This also applies if you drive a keyless car. There’s been a recent surge in keyless cars being ‘hacked’, as thieves only need to be within metres of your key's signal to take control of it. You can combat this with Faraday pouches or boxes that block the signal.
Finally, never leave a spare door key under a plant pot, door mat, brick or garden gnome. If you absolutely have to leave a key for someone to access your home, then invest in a proper external key safe.
Secure outside spaces
It’s easy to forget about our gardens and outside spaces when you’re enjoying the festive period, but sheds and garages can be easy pickings for thieves.
“One of the biggest home security mistakes I see is underestimating the importance of a secure garage door,” says Yvonne Keal. “The garage is often the largest, least-protected entry point in a home, and yet it’s frequently overlooked in security planning. A flimsy, outdated, or poorly-installed garage door can be an easy target for intruders.”
Opt for key-operated multi-point locks and deadbolts, and if the structure itself is in need of repair, don’t be tempted to store any valuables inside.
Bicycle theft is common, and tools and garden equipment are easy items for a thief to make off with. If your shed has a window, ensure these items aren’t in view, or consider putting anything of value inside your home while you’re away.
If you want to make sure your outside spaces are truly secure, Helen Rolph has this recommendation: “Invest in a high-quality, ‘Secured by Design’ accredited garage door. These doors are rigorously tested to meet police-preferred security standards, offering robust resistance against forced entry.”
While you’re doing your checks, also take the time to make sure that any ladders, tools or gardening equipment that burglars could use to gain access to your property are safely stored away.
Minimise deliveries
Built up mail is a sure sign that you’re not at home. If you’re expecting deliveries while you’re away, be sure to add delivery notes to instruct couriers to leave items in a safe place or storage locker, or if you get a lot of deliveries, consider installing a secure parcel box.
“Parcel deliveries left on doorsteps are vulnerable, so make it difficult for would-be thieves,” says Matt Parkes, Marketing Manager at security specialist Burg-Wächter.
“Consider our security kits – there’s one for every eventuality – with robust locks, chains and anchors, as well as our PB03BK Secure Parcel box. Once delivered, your parcels are safe until you retrieve them.”
If you have a trusted neighbour, you could also give them a spare key and ask them to pop in every couple of days to pick up your mail from the doormat and make sure everything is ok with your home.
And remember that it’s not just deliveries themselves, but also their packaging that can serve as an indicator of contents to thieves in the post-Christmas period. Nigel Standen says you should fold and hide discarded boxes after the holidays to prevent advertising new valuables to potential burglars.
Post wisely on social media
A final note, while it can be tempting to show off your Christmas holiday snaps on Instagram or post that festive family group pic on Facebook while you’re away from home, these posts can tell thieves your home is empty. By far the safest thing you can do is simply enjoy the moment and put off posting those holiday snaps until after you get home.
Photos: Getty Images
