The sad truth is a determined burglar will get inside your home, one way or another.
You're never going to fully de-burglarize your home. Your job as a homeowner is to make it as hard as possible for them to get in.
The first thing to check may seem like common sense, but forgetting to lock the front door happens more often than you might expect.
If they are locked, many people leave a spare key in the exact same place -- under the door mat.
Detectives who have seen things like this time and time again say the number one deterrent to burglars in your neighborhood is friends looking out for each other.
When America Now simulated a break-in to one home, we caught the neighbor's attention.
It would have been game over for a real burglar, but we explained and got back to work. What we found next was a big no, no. The blinds were left wide open, basically advertising what's up for grabs inside. Also, the back door deadbolt was clearly not locked.
A solid door and a deadbolt device that requires a key on both sides is the safer option.
There's another and increasingly more important security measure you can take, and that's taking care not to post anything online that could give you whereabouts away.
Social media sites like Twitter and Facebook are great tools that help us stay connected with friends and family. They are also useful tools for criminals.
When you post about being at work, going out or while you're on vacation, you are advertising that your home is most likely empty.
One piece of advice: Post those pictures after you get back. Enjoy your vacation, but don't tell a bad guy that you're away.
We were not able to break into this home, but we were able to point out several areas where a determined burglar would have been successful. So, before you head out in the morning, make sure you lock the deadbolt on your doors, close your blinds and be careful what you say online.
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