Don’t tell burglars you are going away

ALMOST one in five people would not rule out posting their holiday plans on social media – despite the danger of burglars scanning sites to plan breakins, says a survey.

But more than three quarters of us will avoid posting about forthcoming holidays, said the AA Home Insurance poll.

Social media has become ‘a lucrative intelligence source’ for criminals, according to Rachel McGovern, of Brokers Ireland.

She said: ‘It is wise to resist sharing your holiday plans on social media and save it until you return.

‘Incredibly as it might seem, 65% of people don’t activate their alarm systems when they are away from home.’

Almost 74% of 5,000 people quizzed said they were ‘very likely’ to avoid mentioning their holiday on social media with a further 8.5% likely to keep plans to themselves.

But 18% said they would not avoid posting holiday plans, with the remaining 8% declaring themselves ‘neutral’ when asked.

With a significant rise in people taking to the roads and to the air over the Bank Holiday weekend, AA Ireland is warning homeowners to check how secure their home is.

Conor Faughnan, the AA’s director of consumer affairs, said: ‘The August weekend will see many of us travelling to locations both in Ireland and across the world for a final break before the schools return later this month.

‘Given that you spend most of the year counting down the days until your holiday, it’s understandable that people may want to share their plans with family and friends.

‘Unfortunately, once you post this kind of information online you lose control over where it could end up and, without knowing it, you could very easily be advertising the fact your home is empty for a significant period of time to the wrong people.

‘When it comes to protecting your home, the less information potential intruders have about your habits or when the property is likely to be unattended the better.

‘Similarly, if you are going away this weekend, it’s a great idea to do a review of how secure your home is before you leave or ask someone to keep an occasional eye on the property while you are away.’

As well as having a friend or neighbour check in on their property occasionally, the AA is advising homeowners to check their burglar alarm works properly and to ask someone to collect any letters or packages left at their door. According to the survey, 66% of respondents were very likely to check that their burglar alarm is operating correctly before they depart, with 61% planning on having someone collect any items left at their door.

Mr Faughnan said: ‘A build-up of letters or parcels at the front door can be a dead giveaway that your home is empty.

‘So it’s worth asking whoever will be checking in on your home while you are away to either move these into your home or take them somewhere safe until you return.

‘When you are away you want to ensure that it still appears that people are in and out of the property to reduce the chances of someone breaking-in.

‘Unfortunately, you can never completely eliminate the risk, but by being security conscious before your leave you can at least reduce the likelihood of coming home to a nasty surprise.’

Check your burglar alarm works properly