Best Security Tricks That Will Fool Any Burglar

You already know the basics of protecting your home. You know of the value of a home alarm system, and you’ve installed strong locks and doors. But sometimes, you want to go the extra mile to foil any potential burglar’s plans.

Check out these creative strategies and products for outsmarting potential burglars:

• Light timers

If your lights stay off all the time when you’re away, it’s often clear that you’re not home, making your home vulnerable. You could leave your lights on, but it can still be spotted by a burglar as an unnatural habit, continuing the red flag that the house may be unoccupied. In the end, you would just end up with a higher electricity bill.

Instead, use automated timers to have your lights turn on and off each day to make it look like somebody is home.

• FakeTV

The lights aren’t the only thing that will send a signal telling burglars your home is occupied. Devices like FakeTV mimic the light patterns of a flickering television, but it uses far less electricity than an actual television. Just like your lights, you can set it up to turn on and off to fool burglars into thinking that you are home.

• Your neighbour’s garbage

It may sound strange, but your neighbour’s garbage could make the difference between a burglar thinking that you’re home or thinking that you are away.

If you’re going to be leave for a long vacation, invite them to leave some of their garbage in your bins, and to put them on the curb when it is garbage collection day. Otherwise, a thief could see that no garbage is being produced at your house.

• Other neighbourly assistance

Trash isn’t the only helpful thing your neighbours can do for your home. Parking in your driveway, mowing your lawn and leaving footprints through snow up to your door are all ways that neighbours can help each other out to fool burglars.

• Fake intercom

A burglar trying to tell if you are home might buzzing up to your apartment unit. Before you leave, ask your super if they can temporarily redirect your intercom from your home phone to your cell. That way, you can talk to the person at your door as if you were in your house, even if you’re on the other side of the world.

The bottom line is that it’s important never to make your home look like it is unoccupied. Do what you can to keep burglars at bay by making it seem like there is always someone home!