12 Simple Smart Ways to secure your Home

Burglars actually peruse social media to see who's on vacation. In fact, 69 burglars were interviewed by Edith Cowan University in Australia, and perusing social media kept coming up as a way to find victims.

Keep your cyber mouth shut till you return. Here are more tips:

Get to know your neighbors. This way they'll be more inclined to ask a stranger, who's loitering around your yard, what they're doing there.

Don't show off. Like anyone else, burglars are attracted to the niftiest house on the block. Keep a low profile, consider how a new outside decoration might attract the wrong kind of attention

Apps for your smartphone. There are so many ways you can use your mobile device when away from home to keep tabs on your house.

Advertise your home security system. Burglars are repelled by the alarm company signs, decals and stickers on the property.

Hide valuables in clever places. Put small jewelry boxes inside an old Starbucks bag. Or stash money inside an empty cereal box in the pantry.

Don't let mail pile up. And put your mail and newspaper delivery on vacation hold when you travel.

Close your curtains, blinds and shades. It's shocking how many people leave them open at night, making it so easy for burglars to see what's inside, including the 105-pound adult occupant. Even in broad daylight, a burglar casing the area will be brazen enough to step right up to a window and peer inside.

Make your place look like someone is always home. Use timed lighters. Keep the lawn mowed. Arrange to have someone park their car in your drive when you're traveling. Mute the ringer on your phone.

Never leave the garage door open. Not only can a thief see what goodies you have in your garage (yes, burglars steal "garage stuff" for resale), but they can potentially get into the house through the laundry room door.

Don't leave empty boxes for trash pickup that reveal you have brand new pricey items. Break down the boxes.

Don't let shrubs grow around doors and windows where they can conceal a prowler. But do plant thorny bushes close to windows.

One minute. That's how long the average crook needs to get into a house. Keep your doors and windows locked with top-notch devices.