YOUR VALUABLES AND IDENTITY* Having
photos, videos and serial numbers of your
valuables can be extremely helpful in
identifying your stolen goods.
* Contact the manufacturers of some of your
valuables, as they may have advice or
additional products on how to better secure
and protect them from thieves.
* Get your driver's license number (NOT
your Social Security number) engraved on any
expensive electronic equipment. Doing so can
not only assist in their return, but can
actually dissuade theft: Marked property is
difficult to sell or pawn.
* Invisible-ink pens can be used to
identify your property. Again, using your
driver's license number as an I.D., a simple
ultraviolet light on stolen property will show
the police who the real owner is.
* Photocopy receipts of expensive items and
store them in a safe place so you have proof
of purchase for insurance reasons.
* Use a bolted-down safe or a heavy-duty
filing cabinet with a lock that cannot be
carried out of the house to store important
documents, information and valuables. It's a
simple investment that will protect vital
possessions.
* Shredding documents with personal
information (such as bank and credit-card
statements or anything with a Social Security
number on it) will keep a burglar or someone
looking through your trash from finding your
information and assuming your identity.
* Credit cards are immediate cash — keep
records of what cards you have, always keep
them signed on the back and any surplus cards
should be kept in a safe.
* Keep equipment for expensive hobbies
(boats, Jet Skis, golf clubs, etc.) covered up
— even better, keep them locked up out of
sight.
* What you think is well hidden is nearly
always easy pickings for burglars, so lock
things up instead of keeping them in "clever"
hiding places like the freezer, the bag of
sugar or the cookie jar.
* Leaving empty boxes from your new
computer, DVD player or TV on the curb for
trash pickup advertises that you have things
worth stealing in your home. Break boxes down
or cut them up to conceal what they contained.
* A computer lock is an easy and
inexpensive way to protect valuable personal
or customer information. Computers are
expensive items to replace. Keep track of all
your computers through a GPS system.
* Blank CDs are a cheap and easy way to
back up information on your computer in case
it's stolen.
* Instead of keeping jewels hidden in your
home, a safe-deposit box is a smart place to
keep valuables secure from theft. If you
insist on keeping them in the house, lock your
jewelry and other valuables in a bolted-down
floor safe.
* Keep information about your safe-deposit
box separate from any personal identification
documents such as passports or Social Security
cards. If these documents are stolen, you
could suffer further losses if someone is able
to use them to gain access to your
safe-deposit box.
* Secure furs like you would any other
valuable: Keep them in a closet with a dead
bolt, and be sure to monogram or write your
name on the skin of your fur to aid
identification and recovery in case it is
stolen.
* Be sure to lock your bikes and
four-wheelers to a bolted-down surface.
* For pricey heirlooms, get serious about
securing them. First, invest in an appraiser
to have a firm dollar figure on your
valuables. Then photograph, catalogue and put
them on your homeowner's policy. So if a heist
ever goes down, you're covered.
* An art-security hanger makes a painting
difficult to remove from the wall by "locking"
it in place. In addition, a product like "Data
Dots" records identification information on an
adhesive the size of a grain of sand, so your
artwork is traceable if stolen.
