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!

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Allan Baum
Security Industry veteran with over 30+ years in the industry. Founded family owned and operated Protection Plus in 1994 with his wife and has overseen its growth since. In addition to working with his wife and son, Allan has assigned the role of Chief Canine Officer to his trusted dog Waub, who joins him at the office every day.