SUMMER SAFETY

Sum­mer Vaca­tion Safe­ty Tips!
We have wait­ed for a long time for Sum­mer to arrive, and for those vaca­tion days to kick in! Now comes the rush to pre­pare for that road trip or a few weeks at the cot­tage. Here are ten secu­ri­ty tips to remem­ber for a safe and secure vaca­tion.
1. Make a list of “to-do” items. There is noth­ing bet­ter than hav­ing a check­list of things that you need to get done before you lock the door and head off on the sum­mer road trip. Being orga­nized will help make your jour­ney stress free!
2. Tell your neigh­bours when you will be away and ask them to pick up the mail and fly­ers every day. Make arrange­ments to have the grass cut and ask your neigh­bour to park a car in your dri­ve­way reg­u­lar­ly. Mak­ing your home look cared for and occu­pied will sig­nif­i­cant­ly reduce your risk of a bur­glary.
3. Call your alarm com­pa­ny and check that your emer­gency con­tact list is up to date. And ask them how to do a test of your alarm sys­tem. Test your sys­tem to ensure that the mon­i­tor­ing sta­tion is get­ting sig­nals. Do this soon­er rather than lat­er to give time for a ser­vice call if need­ed.
4. Do NOT hide keys under a planter or the door matt. Thieves know all the “secret” hid­ing places for keys. A smart lock helps avoid track­ing keys, and you can sim­ply pro­vide a code to a friend or neigh­bour when they need access. When you get home, erase the code.
5. We know the temp­ta­tion is great for you and maybe your kids to share your des­ti­na­tion and vaca­tion pho­tos on social media in real-time. It’s much safer prac­tice to wait until you are home before shar­ing your fun pho­tos and where you went.
6. Use the “lock” or “pow­er off” fea­ture on your garage door open­er. Secur­ing your garage goes a long way to secur­ing your home. Close blinds on all garage win­dows, to avoid adver­tis­ing your garage con­tents.
7. Make sure you put all your trav­el doc­u­ments, pass­ports, etc., in a safe place. Nev­er leave valu­ables and Pass­ports unse­cured in a hotel room or car.
8. If you are plan­ning a road trip, have your auto­mo­bile ful­ly ser­viced and checked. Nobody wants a vaca­tion ruined or delayed by a vehi­cle break down.
9. When trav­el­ling to a for­eign coun­try or even an unfa­mil­iar city, be wary of adver­tis­ing that you are a tourist. Search online for local gov’t safe­ty advi­sories and advice. Ask a hotel concierge or a rep­utable local, for safe­ty advice and secu­ri­ty risks; they should be able to give you tips on com­mon local scams and areas to avoid.
10. Be wary of pub­lic Wifi. Don’t do bank­ing or sen­si­tive trans­ac­tions using pub­lic unse­cured Wifi. You could eas­i­ly be hacked.

One of the biggest threats to per­son­al or prop­er­ty secu­ri­ty is com­pla­cen­cy. Take a bit of time to do your due dili­gence before you depart. It can save you time and many headaches by pre­vent­ing unfor­tu­nate inci­dents. Have Fun!