Never open your door to a stranger. Criminals can get a good look at you and your home by posing as a door to door salesperson, a neighbor who has lost a pet, or a floral deliverer at the wrong address. In the worst case you could be assaulted and/or robbed.
Install a wide-angle door viewer. These are an inexpensive aid for identifying people at your doorstep. If children are allowed to open the door under certain circumstances, install a second viewer at your child's height.
Never tell a stranger that you are home alone. If they ask for your husband or the man of the house, tell them he is taking a nap and cannot be disturbed.
Do not broadcast your plans in public where others can overhear. Burglars can use this information to determine whether your home might be an easy target in your absence.
Keep your house or apartment well lit. Use exterior sensory night-lights and interior lights plugged into timers to create the illusion of an occupied home at all times.
Keep trees and shrubbery around your home well-trimmed. Overgrown bushes and trees often provide excellent hiding places for criminals.
Plant "defensive" shrubbery around your home, especially beneath windows. Bushes that feature thorns or stiff, spiky leaves are not good hiding places for criminals.
When moving into a house or apartment, always change or rekey the locks or have the tumblers reset. Otherwise, the previous resident- and anyone they supplied keys to- has unrestricted access to your home.
Never hide an extra key under a mat, in a flower pot, or in any other easily accessible place. Criminals know all the hiding places.
Lock your doors when working in your yard, attic, laundry room, or any place away from your home's entry area. While you are busy elsewhere, burglars could easily enter your home unnoticed.
Use deadbolt locks on all exterior doors. Keep your doors locked at all times, even when you're inside.
Protect windows and sliding glass doors with good locks, or other security devices.
Make your home appear occupied when you go out. Use a timer to turn on lights and a radio.
Do not give out information to strangers on the telephone. Thieves often target homes using information obtained from "telephone surveys."
If you use an answering machine, do not announce your name and number as part of the message. Avoid giving criminals any information about you. A common mistake is revealing your exact whereabouts in a message.
Never give important information like travel plans or credit card numbers using a cellular phone. For under one hundred dollars, anyone can buy scanning equipment and listen in on your cellular phone conversations.
