Are your presents all nicely arranged under your brightly lit Christmas tree?

Then you are sending out a strong clear message, “come and help yourself”.

Leaving your curtains or blinds open after dusk allows the burglar to see clearly all the goodies you have just waiting for him.  Maybe he can see right through to the back entrances of your house, and can assess if it would be an easy break-in for him.

He is probably checking if there are sensor lights front and back that would expose him if he chose your home.  Then he would check if the doors were double locked and if the windows had locks on them.

Your front office is all lit up and he spots a calendar on the wall and he sees marked on it that you will be away visiting relatives in the New Year.  He can also see that you are off for a cruise in April, great, he will be back again to rob you a second time.  Then he spots a convenient thick bush right by the laundry door.  That will make nice cover to break in at that point.

That cat door that makes life easier for you and your pet is just close enough to put a wire through and hook your keys off the kitchen bench were you had thoughtlessly dropped them earlier in the day, and now of course you are fast asleep in bed.

He checks your letterbox for your name and any other details that he can glean.  On the computer later he finds out where you work and knows when your house will be empty.  If a neighbour spots him he can drop your name into the conversation.  “Marty asked me to keep on eye on his house while he is away in Greece” Plausible, the neighbour is satisfied.

Checking the house again he notices with delight that there are no cameras that could watch and record his every move.  He knows that the families that have installed security cameras would have hidden their recorder in a safe place, so that even if he smashed the cameras his face would still be recorded and he would be caught.

“O darn it” says Jack the burglar to himself  “ this house has cameras, I will go next door” .

Meanwhile on the beach in Greece Marty is enjoying the sun unaware that his house has been targeted.  John is also relaxing on the beach and decides to check his house via the web on his iphone.  He smiles - all is well, and turns over to tan his back.

Are your presents all nicely arranged under your brightly lit Christmas tree?  Think carefully about how vulnerable you are.