Protect Your Home While Traveling for the Holidays

Nov. 29, 2010— -- We've talked a lot about how to stay safe while traveling, advocating common-sense tips when you're out and about in an unfamiliar area. But taking precautions for a safe and secure home is just as important to ensure peace of mind and a restful getaway.

With the holidays approaching, we know many of you will be heading out of town to visit relatives or take a vacation. Here are some foolproof, simple tips that can help you guard your property and valuables.

Prepare in Advance

When you're excitedly leaving for a vacation, securing your home may be an afterthought. It shouldn't be. "Crime definitely increases during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays; we see a major spike," says Cheryl Watterson, a 20-year ADT security specialist, radio host, and blogger with Let's Talk Home Security. Factors such as the current economic climate, the influx of money for holiday shopping, and people being away from home all contribute to the increase in crime against homes this time of year.

If you're planning on installing a new home security system or updating one currently in place, you'll want to give yourself plenty of advance time to become familiar with it and its new features. Watterson recommends anywhere from a month to three months before leaving for your trip.

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"Cancel your newspapers and mail, or make sure you have a trusted neighbor to retrieve them," says Jim McGuffey, founder, A.C.E. Security Consultants.

Conversely, "I'm not a big fan of turning off [your] mail or newspaper," says Robert Siciliano, identity theft expert with ADT.com. "Once you do that, you are alerting a postal employee or someone at the newspaper that you are gone. It's better to have one or two trusted neighbors without teenage kids collect these items daily."