Tips for Preventing Break-Ins During Your Vacation

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO)- This 4th of July weekend, insurance agents are sharing advice to keep things in and around your home protected.

“Inside, you want to have some timers on some lights that come on and off and we recommend you vary those so they’re not coming on and off at the same time. You want to make sure all your electronics and valuables are locked up and out of sight and we recommend that if you’re going to close your blinds that you have someone come by regularly,” said State Farm Agent Theresa Miley.

Outside of the house, experts said you should make sure your lawn is maintained before you leave or during your trip.

“We recommend you keep your shrubs cut low so no one can hide behind them. Make sure your alarm is set. When you’re on your way to get out of town, you kind of forget to do that so we want to make sure the alarm is set. Also, don’t leave your spare keys outside because people tend to know that so they sort of start to look for that,” Miley said.

In this digital age, experts said that you also should not be checking in on social media. They said that lets criminals know where you are at and what you are doing.

“We all want to share all of our memories with everyone and let them know what we’re doing but we find when you do that, those folks who tend to want to break in are pretty smart and they are getting more sophisticated. So we recommend either waiting until you come back to do all of those posts or making sure that as you do them, you’re not saying how long you’re going to be gone.”

To view these suggestions as well as other safety tips, visit: https://www.statefarm.com/simple-insights/residence/protect-yourself-against-home-burglary.