All Saints Day, or “Undas” is a great opportunity for us to get away from the city and have a short respite from the trials and tribulations of every-day life and visit to reminisce the great times spent with our loved ones who have moved on. Unfortunately it’s also one of the greatest seasons for thefts or home-break-ins. Here are 5 tips that you can do to prepare and reduce the chances of becoming a victim to those with dark intentions.

  • Don’t announce where you’re going on Social Media. If you or your children are active on social media, chances are you or a loved one living with you may have an account that is not secured. It’s quite easy for thieves to search a location on Facebook and look for someone who likes to “Check-in” at his/her home and whose photos can be viewed publicly – including pictures of his/her front gate and a general lay-out of his/her home. If that person publicly announces that the entire family and their dogs are going to the province for a long holiday, they might as well just leave the front door open – After all, replacing broken locks can be expensive.
  • If you subscribe to newspapers, ask your newspaper delivery-man to hold off on the deliveries til you get back. If you’re gone for something like five days, 3 or more newspapers hanging from your gate is a sign that nobody’s home – even if the lights are on.
  • If you keep a key to the front door hidden somewhere outside in the yard, bring it in. If you’re not home, burglars have the time to rummage around for it. It is highly unlikely anyway that everyone in your family will lose their keys during your trip anyway.
  • Invest in light-timers. While some people would recommend shutting down the breakers while you’re away, sometimes that’s not possible – especially if you have a stocked refrigerator (Alternately, you can kill the power to some areas of your house to avoid the possibility of fire). Light timers are good investments because now you can have your house’s external lights go on when the sun goes down, and off when the sun rises – instead of merely leaving them on. This provides the illusion that somewhere, somehow, someone is home. It also allows the nosey neighbors to see if a stranger is poking around your house at night.
    Panasonic TB118N Time Switch
    • MC Home Depot has quite a few Light Timers for sale. One is the Panasonic TB118N Time Switch.
    • The TB118N comes with its own internal power source so there is no current flowing through at any time.
    • It is available in MC Home Depot for PhP 1,895.25.
    • Have a chat with us on Facebook should you be interested in this particular item.
  • Invest in motion-sensitive alarms. Most houses like to invest in alarms that go off when someone breaks a window or opens a door. The problem with these is that they tend to be within the reach of burglars who may know how to deactivate them. Motion Sensitive alarms can be mounted out of the reach of burglars – going off before they have the chance to reach and silence them.
YALE Wirefree Room Alarm
  • MC Home Depot has quite a few Motion Sensor alarms such as this YALE Wirefree Room Alarm with remote.
  • The YALE Wirefree Room Alarm can be mounted almost everywhere and anything within 6 meters (20 feet) that violates its infrared detection system is greeted with a 130 decibel siren.
  • It is powered by 4 x AA batteries and is available in MC Home Depot for PhP 2,109.75
  • Have a chat with us on Facebook should you be interested in this particular item.