ShareThisTips to protect your home while on vacation-- Ask police to check your home and patrol your neighborhood more closely while you are away.-- Stop mail and newspaper deliveries, or have a trusted neighbor collect them while you are away.-- Ask a neighbor to remove any advertising fliers deposited in your mailbox or around your door, driveway or lawn.-- Secure all doors, windows, pet entrances and garage doors.-- Transfer valuables to a safety deposit box.-- Place timers on indoor lamps and appliances to illuminate your home at night.-- Set timers to turn on radios and televisions randomly during the day.-- Check that no bulbs are burned out on your indoor lamps, outdoor lighting fixtures or low-voltage lighting system.-- Arrange to have your lawn mowed.-- Keep some shades and blinds up and curtains open to maintain a normal appearance.-- Have one trusted friend check your home, inside and out, each day.-- Remove messages from your telephone answering machine daily so that the "beep" is always short.-- Don't indicate on your outgoing message that you are on vacation.Source: www.burglaryprevention.orgHotel safety tips:--Always request a room on an upper floor.-- Make sure your door has a peephole and night latch. Use them.-- Turn on the TV or radio just loud enough to be heard through the door.-- Turn on a single light in the room if you plan to return after dark.-- Inspect the room upon entering and check all locks.-- Ask the bellman for an escort and use valet parking if you are alone.Source: Chris McGoey, www.crimedoctors.com
While you're away ...
Paying taxes unites us. It also divides us. People can pay five and even six times more in state and local taxes than other folks in similar circumstances making similar incomes.
Who's got your number?
In one of the fastest-growing forms of identity theft, crooks are stealing tax refunds by swiping personal information and using it to trick the Internal Revenue Service.
