Keeping your home safer this Christmas

Keeping your home safer this Christmas

The sun is finally shining, the car is packed, and the road trip playlist is ready to go. It’s a magical time of year, but unfortunately, it can also be a risky time as empty homes make tempting targets for burglars. Add these simple tips to your to-do list before you go away so you can kick back and relax and not worry about your home while you’re away.

 

• Get the mail collected

An overflowing mailbox is like a neon light flashing ‘We’re on holiday’ to anyone walking past your place, so enlist a friend, family member or neighbour to drop by every few days and clear the mail. Added bonus: they can have a quick check around your house while there to make sure nothing has been disturbed.

 

• Tell your neighbours your plans

It can be a good idea to let neighbours that you trust know you’re going away so if they see anything unusual happening they can let you know. Leave your contact details with them, and get theirs so you can check in if you need to. Just remember if you come back earlier than expected to let them know so they don’t panic and think someone is there who shouldn’t be!

 

• Organise pet care

Our furry, feathery or scaly friends can’t always join us on holiday, so make sure you arrange for someone to come over and feed and care for them regularly, even if you’re only away for a short time. Not only will it be comforting to them, but if someone is popping by the house each day there is a much better chance of any strange activity being noticed and stopped. If you are only planning a quick day trip to the beach over the break use a video monitoring plan so you can check in on your phone to make sure your pets are under control and not getting up to any mischief!

 

• Close bedroom curtains and blinds

While shutting up the whole house may make it too obvious you’ve gone away on a break, closing the curtains or blinds in bedrooms, and rooms that can’t be seen from the road or neighbours’ houses, is a good idea so it’s harder for people to see into your home. Burglars generally don’t want to risk bumping into anyone, so if they aren’t totally sure the home is empty, and can’t see lots of valuables on display, the chances of them breaking in may be lessened.

• Set up a smart home

Forget the difficulties of having to take time off work to get a traditional home alarm wired and installed right before Christmas – new smart home technology can be installed by you, in just a couple of hours, and will let you see your home online via your smartphone or laptop so you can have peace of mind. Motion-activated cameras can record clips of what is happening and send alerts directly to your phone so no more false alarms, and a video doorbell with two-way audio will let you talk to anyone who comes knocking so you know who is there and why.

 

Let us help you stay safer this Christmas - Morepork Security Starter Kit is a great way for New Zealanders to keep an eye the things they love. Via a Morepork Camera and a W-Fi connection Kiwis can keep an eye on their homes whenever they like via a smartphone app. The Morepork Security Starter Kit Is included when you sign up to a 12 month plan via morepork.nz

First 3 months free, $39.95 per month thereafter. Available for new customers only. Offer ends 28 February 2018.
 $5 delivery fee for Starter Kit. Morepork terms, conditions and early exit fees apply.

 

Spark Zealand Trading Limited, the subsidiary Digilife New Zealand Limited who provide Morepork products and services, and any of the related companies accept no responsibility for decisions made by readers as result of using or relying on any information contained in this article. It is provided to assist readers on security issues for which they should seek legal or law enforcement advice. Please consult a law enforcement professional for advice specific to your situation.