How a Burglar Picks a Home to Break into

Learn how unwanted intruders shop for homes to burglarize to better secure your property

With Thanksgiving and Christmas approaching fast, many families will holiday away and leave their homes unattended. Holiday season provides the perfect opportunity for burglars to break in and completely ransack empty homes. Placing yourself in the burglar's shoes will help you secure your home the right way for the holidays.

New York Locksmith shares the following tips on how unwanted intruders shop for homes to burglarize:

Burglars look for easy access and quick escape routes. Open windows, unlocked doors and weak sliding doors provide great entry points for thieves. Install window gates on windows and sliding doors to block vulnerable entry points and deter burglars from even attempting to break in.

Burglars look for non-occupancy signs like a bulging mailbox, empty parking space, and ringing phones. Ask a neighbor to empty your mailbox on a regular basis while you are away. Use an inexpensive light timer to light up your property on specific intervals. Mute ringing sound on all telephones. Leave on a radio to sound voices and mimic a full home.

Smashing windows and breaking doors create noise that unwanted intruders want to avoid. Burglars prefer to enter through open windows, unlocked doors, or use your spare key to gain access. Unwanted intruders are one step ahead of you – they will look for spare keys underneath door mats, in flowerpots or above doors. Owning extra keys is a great way to avoid lockout scenarios – make sure you give them to a trusted neighbor instead of hiding a set outside your home for burglars to unlock your front door and step in.

Don't let burglars know what expensive belongings you own. Don't let empty gift boxes pile outside your home for the garbage man to collect. After Christmas day, dissemble empty gift boxes of computers, LCDs, and stereos and toss in garbage.

Install alarm systems, heavy duty locks and sturdy entry doors for maximum protection against home invasions.