4 Security Tips for Your Home

Security is a critical part of your home life both in terms of preventing the potential financial loss that a break-in can cause, along with the associated psychological effects and significant stress.  Online and cyber-crime have become the buzzwords for financial security in 2020, but it’s still very important to ensure that your physical premises, personal belongings, and assets are appropriately protected against theft and that your family can remain confident and feel safe in their own home. The following security tips should give women over 50 with some pointers for keeping their home, family, and belongings more secure.

1. Consider using a keyless entry system

Old fashioned lock and key setups might still be the most common methods of securing entry points to a home and can often be all the security you need, but there are a whole host of high tech alternatives to consider; everything from face recognition and thumbprint recognition to swipe cards and electronic key fobs can provide extra layers of home security. Some systems even allow you to control all your internal and external locks via a smartphone app from wherever you are in the world. This is often connected to an in-home camera and alarm systems; if you’re connected to the internet, you can keep an eye on things even when you are away from home.

2. Be mindful of loitering individuals and groups

Loitering individuals, often giving away a motive other than being a passerby or visitor by refusing to make eye contact, hanging around suspiciously, or making other neighbors or family members feel uncomfortable, should be a cause for extra attention. If you’re feeling uncomfortable or threatened, you must contact the emergency services in your area. Larger loitering groups, often teenagers, can be dispersed via sophisticated, audio-based teenage loitering deterrent systems. This mosquito anti-loitering deterrent is a great example; working by emitting annoying sound frequencies that only under 25-year-olds can hear, causing most groups to disperse within 20 minutes. You could also consider using bright security spotlights to send a strong message that loitering in your neighborhood is not an invisible pastime. 

3. Don’t leave your most valuable belongings in full view

At night time, make sure that curtains and blinds are closed so that potential, opportunistic thieves aren’t inclined to window-shop. Similarly, leaving smartphones, tablets, jewelry, wallets, and other expensive items in full view are like honey to a bear for the wandering crook and should always be tidied away, out of sight; not just in your home but in your car also, leaving your phone on the dashboard of an unlocked car as you dash to the shops to grab a quart of milk will likely not be covered by your insurance. 

4. Make your home appear to be occupied

This is an obvious tip; homes that appear occupied are far less likely to be the target of a potential burglar. In the old days, we would leave a light on in the hallway whenever we went out so that it always looked like somebody was home. These days you can set your smart home lighting system to come on in different rooms on set timers to make your home look truly lived in, and with LED bulbs, it doesn’t cost the earth in electricity either.

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