• Strive to make your home look as lived-in as possible while you're away.
• Don't broadcast your plans but do let your neighbors and local law enforcement know.
• Give a spare key to your neighbors and give them an emergency telephone number to reach you.
• Arrange to have your mail and newspapers either stopped or picked up daily.
• Have someone mow your yard or rake the leaves so your house looks lived-in.
• Use automatic timers to turn on a radio and lights at different intervals to hide the fact you aren't home.
• Turn down the ringer on the telephone. An unanswered telephone is a dead give-away.
• Be sure you don't announce your absence on your answering machine message.
• Leave your blinds like you normally would if you were home. Only close them all the way if that is what you would normally do.
• Be sure to close and lock the garage as well as any storage sheds, gates, etc.
• Engrave all your valuables with your driver's license number. If possible videotape the contents of your home. Be sure to keep the video and the list of valuables in a safety deposit box.
• Ask your neighbor to occasionally park in your driveway. If you are leaving a vehicle parked outside, have the neighbor move it periodically so it looks as though you are home.
• Be sure someone knows your itinerary and your estimated time of arrival and return.
• If you get lost while traveling, ask directions of local law enforcement, not complete strangers.
• Be sure your vehicle is in good working condition and that you have taken enough money. Do not carry large amounts of cash, use credit cards and travelers' checks.

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 Source: Originally developed by the Florida Attorney General's Office