The Lawhead Team would like to share the latest “One Cool Thing” about burglars and how to keep your home safe from them:

Home burglary generally has a pattern: criminals looking for an easy target they can rob fast. Career burglars shared this information to help you prevent break-ins.

• Weekdays, between 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. are the most popular times for break-ins. The last thing criminals want is to encounter someone at home and weekend schedules are too unpredictable.
• Criminals scout public social media accounts to find victims. Locating someone’s home address using basic information from their social media profile is surprisingly easy.
• Tall bushes are favorites of burglars since they offer an obstructed view from the street and an easy way to hide from neighbors. So, keep your shrubs and large landscaping features trimmed.
• Unlocked windows, unused deadbolts, poorly lit homes, and residences without security systems are prime targets for thieves.
• Keep your expensive items out of sight. Leaving your MacBook in front of your kitchen window is making it too easy for a burglar.

Source: California Association of Realtors and RISMedia’s Housecall

The Lawhead Team knows how scary a break-in can be. We want to educate our readers on how you can prevent a burglar from entering your home.

The following are 5 ways you are asking for a burglar to enter your home:

1. Leaving evidence of valuables outside for those driving by to see. Just get a new TV or stereo system? Leaving the large box out in your trash bin is a perfect way for a burglar to know you the goodies you have in your home. Break down your boxes and put them at the bottom of your trash bin so no one can see your big purchases.
2. Not bolting down your safe. Great idea to store any valuables in your safe – most likely a burglar won’t have enough time to attempt to break into it. They will, however, take the entire safe if it isn’t bolted down. What’s the point of a safe if it can easily be carried out of the home?
3. Letting newspapers pile up in the driveway while you’re away on vacation. This is a perfect target for a burglar. If newspapers are piled up in the driveway and there are no lights on, BINGO, this is an open invitation to a burglar. Get some timers for lamps in your home and ask your neighbors to pick up your newspaper. We also suggest you avoid announcing on Facebook or any other social media sites you are away on vacation.
4. Investing in an expensive alarm and never setting it. If you’ve paid money for an alarm system, use it! Burglars also hate barking dogs and loud neighbors. We also recommend creating a neighborhood watch with your community. They can help you work with your neighbors to improve security and reduce risk of burglary.
5. Letting shrubs and bushes grow around your home. Poorly lit areas, bushes and shrubs all create a burglar haven. This gives them a perfect opportunity to not be seen or hide in the bushes if someone walks or drives by.

Do you have some suggestions on how to prevent a burglar from invading your home? Comment on our blog.

Rekey your new home to ensure safety and privacy from others who may have had copies of your home’s keys.

You just bought your new home and there is no better feeling than being handed over the keys to your new house!

Before you start moving in all your goodies however, you should rekey all your points of entry. The sellers, like most people, most likely gave a copy of their keys to neighbors, friends, coworkers, construction workers and/or house cleaners. Even if you are moving into a brand new home that no one has lived in, it is possible contractors may have your keys.

Every home has one and sometimes even up to a dozen keyed points of entry. Until those locks are changed, there is no telling who may have access to your home.

The keys to your home that may be floating around to a handful of people will still gain entry to your home until you rekey the locks. We suggest calling a reputable locksmith to have the locks changed instead of installing new hardware on your doors.

This is for two reasons. One, it is less expensive to rekey the locks than it is to buy all new hardware. Two, a locksmith can rekey all your locks so you have one key that works to open all your doors.

Ideally your locks should be changed the same day as purchase. Rekey your locks and rest at ease in your new home!

No one wants to be a victim of a home burglary. Check out our tips to prevent burglary in your home:

• Place a sign up that you have a home security system. Even if you don’t want to spend the money on a security system, just a simple security sign in your yard or on your window will help deter a burglary. Chances are a burglar will go to the next house if he thinks you have a security system.
• Make sure your garage remains closed anytime you are not present. Open garages may advertise your belongings to a potential burglary.
• Stay on friendly terms with your neighbors. Closely knit neighbors are more likely to call the police if they see someone suspicious lurking around your property. Make it a point to befriend your neighbors and help prevent burglarythroughout the neighborhood.
• Most times valuables are kept in the bedroom and burglars know this. Keep valuables outside of your bedroom, anywhere a burglar wouldn’t expect to find them.
• Homes with shrubbery and abundant bushes to hide behind make a pleasant opportunity for a burglary. If your home is relatively exposed a burglar may avoid your house because there are not many places he can make his escape.
• Lights with motion sensors are a great way to deter a burglary. If someone is to walk along the side of your home, the light will turn on automatically encouraging the burglar to move on.
• Noise, such as the radio or TV, is a great way to deter a potential burglary. A burglar is more likely to think you are home and move on to the next house.
• Keep your home’s windows and doors locked at all times. Do an inventory of your home and examine where the easiest break in point would be and secure it to avoid any potential future burglary.

Protect your home from burglary. The following are things burglars look for when scanning neighborhoods to rob.

The look of your house: Burglars operate in one of two ways. Either the burglary is totally random, or the burglar has scoped out the neighborhood in advance. Whichever the case, the burglar chooses your house because it looks easy to rob.

Thus, appearances are crucial to deterring burglars. Burglars, like anyone else, make their decisions on a risk-reward basis. If you make your house look tough to rob, the burglar will pass you over for another house.

Putting alarm system stickers or “beware of dog” signs around your house help deter a burglar. Park your fancy car in the garage and don’t keep an empty box from the new fancy TV you just purchased out on the curb for the trash man.

Burglars don’t like homes that attract attention: Because burglars want to get in and out as quick as possible, they will do everything they can to avoid attracting attention. Fight this by making your house bright and noisy. Install a motion sensor light or get a dog.

An empty house is an easy target: Burglars will case your house for when you are away or asleep. If newspapers are piled up in your driveway and the lights are out, you might as well invite the burglar inside.

Put your lights on timers and stop newspaper delivery when you are out of town.

Secure all windows and doors: Every exterior door should have a deadbolt and every window at least one latch. Also consider using sliding window locks on ground-floor windows, and use a dowel to secure sliding glass doors.

Even the best cat burglars have said that 90 percent of the time, they use gloves and a screwdriver over high-tech equipment. Walk around your house and think about where you would get in if you were a burglar. Whatever can be most easily pried open, unhinged, or wiggled loose will be the weak link in the proverbial chain.

The holidays are here and unfortunately, this is a prime time for home and car burglary.  The Lawhead Team cares about you and wants to make sure you do all you can to prevent a burglar from breaking in.

Here are some helpful tips for property owners and renters to secure their homes and vehicles from a burglar:

Do not leave an emergency key in a location which would be obvious to a potential burglar.  They know to look under flowerpots, outside furniture cushions, door mats and other common hiding places.

Use motion detectors to automatically turn on exterior lights after dark. While good lightning does not guarantee that a burglar will not try to forcibly enter a home, it is one of the cheapest, easiest, and most effective elements of an overall home security system.

Don’t give a burglar a reason to break into your car.  Rushing from one store to the other, it is easy to leave bags and packages in plain sight in the car.  Hide your purchases in the trunk or cover them with a blanket or jacket.  Of course, always remember to park in a well lit area and lock your door.

Make sure to pick up any newspapers and/or packages left in the driveway or doorway.  Accumulation of newspapers and packages is a telltale sign to a burglar that no one is home.  . When traveling, homeowners should always arrange for someone to collect their packages, mail, and papers—or at least inform the newspaper company and post office to temporarily stop delivery.

Leave a light on.  Empty dark houses are prime targets for burglary.  Leaving lights on, asking a neighbor to get your mail and automatic timers on holidays lights give the appearance of being home.

Let your neighbors know you will be traveling or leaving the house for an extended period of time. A concerned neighbor is one of the primary deterrents of a burglar and other suspicious activity in neighborhoods.

Installing a loud alarm system with remote monitoring capabilities will deter most all burglars.  No burglar is willing to stay in a home with a blaring alarm system.