How to keep your property safe as houses when on holidays

Those jetting off on holiday may want to reconsider posting snaps on social media – otherwise, they could become a burglary target, writes Helen O’Callaghan

For those of us who feel like we’re always getting social media updates about other people’s holiday plans, it’s surprising to hear a recent survey found almost three-quarters of people are ‘very likely’ to avoid mentioning their holiday on social media out of fear the information will fall into the wrong hands.

The message about not blasting holiday plans all over social media seems to have got through,” says Barry Aldworth, senior media officer at AA Ireland, which is warning homeowners to double-check how secure their home is before they travel.

Nevertheless, some of us continue to be a bit more cavalier about keeping our holiday plans to ourselves. The AA Home Insurance survey of over 5,000 people found 8.5% are ‘somewhat likely’ to keep mum about their plans. Over three percent are ‘somewhat unlikely’ to do so, while over four percent are ‘very unlikely’ to.

“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,” says AA director of consumer affairs Conor Faughnan

Unfortunately, once you post this kind of information online you lose control over where it could end up.” “Why would you broadcast on Facebook that you’re going on holiday? It’s like taking out an ad that your house is empty,” says John Kinsella, managing director of AccurA Security Products.

“Remember as a child going on holiday your mammy said ‘don’t tell the neighbours’? I often didn’t know until I was brought to the airport that we were off somewhere. It was a ‘surprise’ – but the real reason was my parents didn’t want people to know we were going. There was common sense that’s often missing now,” says Kinsella, who recommends sharing less of our inner monologue.

The idea that we’re all just six degrees of separation away from anyone else is good to remember when you’re on social media. “It’s not that you don’t trust your friends,” says Kinsella. “But your friends have friends and if you have 100 friends and you multiply by six, that’s around 600 people getting to see your status as to where you are. Posting ‘I’m in Dublin Airport heading to Majorca’ is foolish.” But even if you do post it, how can a potential intruder know the precise location of your house? “Perhaps you live in a rural community where everyone knows everyone. People have the information on what house is whose,” says Aldworth.

Barry Aldworth

Maybe your 14-year-old is stamping her location each time she checks in on Facebook. Or, says Kinsella, maybe your friend, Donal, likes that you’re heading to Spain.

One of Donal’s friends – who could be any sort of criminal or have connections with one – sees that Donal has liked it. He thinks ‘John’s heading away. Who’s this John?’ Next time he’s on the phone to Donal, he says ‘oh, your friend, John – where does he live again?’

Or perhaps you have a social media friend who you think is great – but you don’t know about their addiction. “This ‘friend’ thinks ‘oh there’s money to be had in that house’,” says Kinsella, adding that today’s burglars aren’t looking for big, awkward items like a TV that’s worth only €500 retail. “They’re looking for smaller items like jewellery – gold, platinum, diamonds.”

Which is why we shouldn’t flag expensive gifts on social media: “People get engaged. Next thing they’re on Facebook, posting ‘thanks Hon’ next to a picture of the ring. A criminal’s thinking ‘that’s worth about 12 grand – I might get €5,000 for it’.”

John Kinsella

Sgt Tony Davis, crime prevention officer in Cork City, cites 2017 stats from the Garda Analyst Service, which found one in four burglaries happened where windows and doors had been left open. “That was last year. With burglaries we’ve had in Cork over the last few weeks, it’s been a lot more – in the majority of burglaries in Cork over the past three weeks, entry was gained through an open front door or window.” Davis puts this down to the fantastic weather we’ve been having all through this summer. “Very few of the home-owners were away on holiday, but with the fine weather people head out and they don’t think to check that all doors and windows are secure.” Faughnan urges holiday-bound homeowners to review how secure their home is before they leave and ask someone to keep an occasional eye on the property while they’re away.

The AA is also advising homeowners to check their burglar alarm is fully functional and to ask someone to collect any letters/packages that are left at their door while they’re away. The survey found almost 66% of respondents were ‘very likely’ to check their burglar alarm is operating correctly before they depart, with 61% planning on having someone collect any items left at their door.

But don’t be lulled into thinking ‘I’m not expecting any post’, forgetting about the free periodicals and flyers, the couple of bills that can arrive and be clearly visible through the front door. “A build-up of letters or parcels can be a dead giveaway that your home is empty, so it’s worth asking whoever will be checking in on your home to either move these into your home or take them somewhere safe until you return,” says Faughnan.

The big mistake is to think you’re immune to risk of home intrusion while you’re basking on the beach. Saying ‘what are the chances it’ll happen to me’ isn’t very wise. “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,” says Faughnan.