Summer is synonymous with vacations—beachside getaways, visits with faraway family, summer cruises, camping trips. With kids off from school, slowdowns at work, and summer hours, there’s no better time to get away. Everyone knows it—including burglars.
Intruders know homes are more vulnerable during the summer—and they know exactly what to look for. They look for houses with the same lights on at the same time every night. They check driveways for cars missing for days. They notice newspapers piling up at the door and mailboxes stuffed so full the door no longer stays closed. And in our social media age, they take note of posts announcing travel dates and vacation pictures posted the same day they’re taken.
The good news is that a house doesn’t have to look empty just because it is. With a bit of preparation and the right systems in place, you can make your home appear active, occupied, and far less appealing to anyone casing the neighborhood.
Before You Leave
Lock Every Entry Point
Chances are, you won’t forget to lock the front door on your way out, but don’t skip locking your windows, garage doors, back doors, and side gates. Most break-ins happen through unlocked or easily forced entry points, not sophisticated methods.
Stop the Mail & Subscriptions
If your post office offers the service, put your mail on hold. If not, ask a neighbor to come by regularly to pick it up. Also put a hold on newspapers and subscription services that may be arriving via UPS, FedEx, or Amazon. Think ahead when ordering online. Will that package arrive before you leave? If not, it’s best to wait until it can be delivered after you get back.
Program a Lighting Schedule
With a system like Beacon Protection’s home automation app, you can set your lights to turn on and off at set times before you leave. Choose times that are not exactly on the hour or half hour, and vary when and which lights go on daily so a pattern won’t be recognized.
Set Up Access for Anyone Checking In
Beacon Protection’s smart locks let you create a unique access code for a house sitter, dog walker, or cleaner, rather than hiding a key outside or getting one copied. You can set the code to work
only during specific windows and be removed whenever the outside person no longer needs access—without changing the regular code you use for your family.
Ask a Trusted Neighbor to Add Visible Activity
While your lighting schedule will help make it look like someone is inside your home, it is also helpful to have a neighbor do a couple of things outside to add to the illusion. Ask them to park in your driveway occasionally, move trash cans out, or grab anything that’s left on the porch.
Arm the System in “Away” Mode
Beacon Protection’s security system has two modes for when you’re at home and when you’re away. When you’re at your house, you set the system to “home”, which essentially secures the perimeter. When you go on vacation, you switch to “away” mode. That activates the full system, including interior motion sensors. If you’ve rushed to get everyone out the door, pulled out of the driveway, and left the city limits only to realize you may have forgotten to arm the system, don’t worry—you can arm it remotely from the app.
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What You Can Control From Anywhere
Beacon Protection’s app puts your home’s security and automation controls in your pocket. From the app, you can keep an eye on your house from vacation. You’ll be able to view live camera feeds, disarm and arm your security system, and adjust your lights, locks, and thermostat on the fly.
If you’re too busy having fun to micromanage your home environment, you can set alerts so you get notified if something is worth your attention. Smart alerts have come a long way. Gone are the days when your notification goes off every time a car drives by. Beacon Protection’s system can distinguish between a vehicle, person, and animal so you’re alerted only when something deserves your attention.
Not every alert comes from inside the house. Some start right at the front door. If you opt for a Beacon Protection Video Doorbell, you’ll get an added layer of security at one of your home’s most common entry points. Its visible camera and speaker discourage suspicious activity because visitors know they’re being recorded and that someone can speak to them in real time. Whether it’s a delivery driver, a neighbor, or someone who shouldn’t be there, you can see who’s outside, speak with them through the app, and capture clear footage day or night.
None of this matters if your system loses connection. A system that relies solely on WiFi can be knocked offline if someone cuts the power to the house or disrupts internet connectivity. Beacon Protection gives you cellular backup to keep your system connected via a mobile network, so a disruption in service at home doesn’t mean a disruption in your ability to see what’s happening.
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What to Do If An Alert Comes in While You’re Away
In the event an alert comes in while you’re away, we have your back. When a sensor trips, our app sends an alert to your phone within seconds—a door opening, a window breaking, motion where there shouldn’t be any. Instead of guessing what set it off, you can pull up live footage right from the notification and see for yourself. Maybe it’s a gust of wind knocking something over. Maybe it’s not.
If you’ve selected cameras and doorbells that support two-way talk, you (or our monitoring team) can speak to whoever’s there. In many cases, simply letting someone know they’ve been seen is enough to convince them to leave.
If you have our 24/7 live monitoring service, you won’t need to rely only on your notification.
We’ll review the activity, confirm the alert is real, and if it is, dispatch the police—even if you were having fun and missed your phone alert.
Focus on Your Vacation—Not Your Front Door
With Beacon Protection watching your home, you can leave town without bringing your house with you. There’s no need to worry about whether the plug-in lamp timer is enough to deter intruders. If the weather turns unseasonably cold at home, you can turn your AC down from your phone to save money. If you forgot about that Amazon package, you can give your neighbor a temporary code so she can let herself and the package inside. And if someone attempts to enter your home, Beacon Protection’s smart alarms and 24/7 monitoring can catch them in real time, verify the threat, and get help on the way before you even see the alert. Your job is to enjoy the trip. Ours is to protect your home.
Planning a trip? Let’s make sure your home is protected before you go.
Contact Beacon Protection today for a free consultation.