Over the busy festive period, keeping the home safe and secure is even more important to make sure celebrations stay merry and worry-free.
With many Britons expecting deliveries and high-value presents, security experts at ADT share a simple guide to protect your home and keep your holiday spirit intact.
Leaving packages outside can attract the wrong attention, signalling to burglars there might be valuable stuff inside. Proper disposal hides your new items, making it less tempting for thieves.
Packaging often has personal info like names and addresses and leaving it out risks identity theft or your privacy being compromised.
Take packaging to recycling centres or waste facilities, not just leaving it on the curb. This keeps your home safer by not showing off your gifts.
Put packaging in bin bags or containers to hide what’s inside, and mix it in with your regular rubbish.
Cut boxes into smaller pieces and crush them. This makes them less noticeable and hides any signs of expensive items.
Avoid attracting thieves by avoiding sharing too much about your Christmas gifts on social media. Thieves might be watching and planning to break in.
Be careful about sharing your location, which might make you an easy target. Keep your privacy settings on platforms like Facebook set to private.
To boost home security, ADT suggests investing in an alarm system. If it goes off, it alerts you and others, making help come quickly, and will make burglars think twice.
Smart devices like video doorbells let you see and talk to visitors from anywhere, and they also capture proof if someone tries to break in.
Matthew Harwood, home and lifestyle expert at Confused.com notes that investing in a smart home system could potentially lower home insurance costs.
A recent survey by confused.com found 37.4 percent of respondents saving on their home insurance by installing smart devices. These range from security cameras to voice assistants.
Smart security cameras, like Ring and Arlo, are the most popular, earning the trust of nearly a quarter of respondents (24.6 percent).
Smart doorbell cameras, include Ring Doorbell and Nest Hello, and smart voice assistants, such as Amazon Echo/Alexa and Google Home, claimed the second and third spots.
Harwood added: “While these devices can lower your insurance, they can be expensive, running into the thousands.”
Homeowners are encouraged to check whether insurers offer cheaper home insurance based on smart security devices, as not all will offer discounts.
But with smart devices rising in popularity, smart home insurance could become more common, Harwood explains.
