It is holiday time: a few tips to avoid getting robbed (athome.lu)

If you are not leaving, pay attention to home-jacking

Some burglars break into homes even in broad daylight, and even if people are at home. This practice has been named home-jacking. In some cases these acts of robbery can turn into violent crimes, especially if the thief is caught by the owner.  

Our advice: always keep your door locked even during the day. This will prevent burglars from breaking into your home if you are spending some time in the garden or in the patio.

Beware of social networking

You are happy you are about to go on vacation and you announce it to your friends on social networks. Be vigilant! Social networks provide a wealth of useful information for potential burglars who can retrieve there your personal contacts as well as information on your next holidays... 

Our advice: protect your personal data by creating a private profile, thereby avoiding making your details available to everyone.

Pay attention to roof windows

Some burglars do not hesitate to get into your house through roof windows, not to mention that sometimes their task is being eased up by roof windows that are left open.

Our advice: remember to close your skylights whenever you are gone and to equip them with a safety system to prevent their opening by intruders.

Night robbers

Some burglars prefer to operate at night when everything around is quiet, even though the owner may be at home. Again, the robbery may turn into a violent crime if the owner wakes up and catches the thieves by surprise. 

Our advice: remember to close your windows and lock your front door before you go to bed. Do not leave the keys of your car and your wallet right at the entrance of your home.

Protect your PVC frame

Some thieves melt the PVC frames of your windows by using a torch, thereby making sure they can open them very quickly.

The solution: if you have PVC windows, the safest thing to do is to close your shutters whenever you are away from home. If you need to change your windows, we recommend you opt for aluminium chassis.

A preliminary inspection preceding the robbery

Burglars often try to spot useful information before they move on to the next phase of their plan. They observe the time you leave home in the morning and at what time you come home in the evenings, for example. 

Our advice: install an alarm system with video surveillance. Burglars are quickly discouraged if they have to cope with such device.

Protect your front door

Most burglars come in through the front door of your home. There are different ways they use to open or break to door, not to speak about the chance they get when the door is not locked.

Our advice: equip yourself with at least a three-point lock or opt for a good-quality security door.