Tips to help secure your holiday

  • Published
  • By By 354th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
Once again, the holiday season has arrived and many will take this time to travel, spend time with family and friends, and relax.

While indulging in well-deserved time off, it is important vacationers realize the importance of securing their belongings and guarding critical information before they leave.

"You want to be a hard target for criminals," said Nick Ehlinger, 354th Security Forces Squadron investigator. "Residents should appreciate the purpose of making their home uninviting to home invaders."

A few simple steps can be taken to make a residence look occupied, avoiding uninvited guests.

"When leaving your belongings behind, you want to make it look as though you are still there," said Ehlinger, adding that when noticeable items disappear from the yard, or mail and snow piles up, that is a clue that the inhabitants are not there.

"It's a good idea to have your neighbors pick up your mail and check on your house," said Tech. Sgt. Keri Frandsen, 354th Fighter Wing alternate Operations Security Program manager. "Also, things like having a neighbor put fresh tire tracks in the snow and rotate the lights that are on in your house are good ways to make it seem that your house isn't empty."

Ehlinger also suggests securing anything of value before leaving, including children's toys.
Security, however, includes more than just protecting your home. People must also exercise caution when posting information to the Internet, especially with the popularity and ease of access to social networking sites. Personal information posted to social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter can be an easy way to tell if a family is away from home.

"If you check in from, say, the Seattle Airport, people are going to know that you're not coming back for a while," said Frandsen. "People will know that you're not home."

Frandsen added that many tend to post vacation photos to their page, giving would-be criminals a better idea of their window of opportunity for entering a vacant home.

"Photos can give bad guys real-time intelligence about where you are, letting them know that you aren't home," she said. "It's best to be private, because you never know who could be looking at your information."

Ehlinger added it's important to limit who has access to your profile.
"It's very simple to protect yourself on those sites by making it private and only allowing friends to see your profile."

Taking the time to practice home and cyber security can help ensure a safe and happy holiday season for all.