The holiday season is upon us. People can get extra greedy this time of year. Did you know December is a major month for home break-in burglaries? This is because people leave their homes unattended during the holidays. Perhaps they’ve gone to visit relatives out of state or they’ve taken a much needed vacation to somewhere warmer and sunnier. Either way, when they leave their house unoccupied, burglars can take notice and take advantage. It doesn’t help when people post photos or videos on their social media, indicating they’re not at home for extended periods of time.
Holiday Season is a Hotspot for Burglars in Small Towns and Big Cities Alike
While burglaries peak the most in the summertime, when people are often leaving their homes to take summer vacations, December (the holiday season) is the other time of year when burglaries peak– especially the week following Christmas. This is true for cities as well as small towns. Burglars know that homes are filled with gifts and if no one is home, they can rob those gifts and probably not get caught!
Winter storms can give clues to who’s not at home (and worthy of robbing) because the driveway isn’t plowed, mail or newspapers are stacking up or overflowing, delivered packages are sitting on front stoops– for days, no lights are on at night, etc. Furthermore, most people put their Christmas trees in their front windows to show them off to the neighborhood. Thieves can look into these front windows and assess whether or not there are piles of open presents worthy of stealing inside. It’s like “window shopping” for them. They look for things like TVs, computers, jewelry, etc. They can also watch a person’s garbage to see what empty boxes get put out after Christmas– indicating “what they just got.”
You might think most holiday season burglaries occur late at night, but the reality is that most occur between 6am and 6pm, according to FBI statistics. Police can have a hard time figuring out who did the burglary, and typically losses average about $1,675 per break-in.
Do you want to protect your home from burglars this holiday season? Call NYCONN Security Systems to ask about security systems for your home– the number is 800-783-5004.