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[infobox]Murphy’s Law for Travelers: If anything can go wrong, it will go wrong while you’re not home.[/infobox]

Coming home from a relaxing vacation isn’t anyones favorite thing but coming home to find something major went wrong while you’re away can be utterly devastating. The Insurance Information Institute reports that the majority of break-ins occur during the months of July and August, aka prime time for summer galavanting. Fortunately, preventing burglaries and other problems when you are away takes a minimal amount of planning and can increase your peace of mind greatly while you travel.

Never “Check-In” at your home

It’s become popular for people to list their homes as places they check-in to on apps like Foursquare and Facebook. In doing so they’re basically providing a map to their home. DON’T DO IT!

Never announce your travel dates on social media

In a world where it seems perfectly natural to provide up-to-the-minute updates on your nearly every move it’s important to stop and think: Who could be seeing this? It’s important to remember that even the most “locked” down profile is still on the world wide web and things are not nearly as private as they may seem. Letting the whole world know that you’re going on vacation for two weeks over Christmas break? Probably not the best idea.

Don’t leave the lights on

Many people think it’s a good idea to leave the lights when they leave in order to make others think someone is home. However, those lights blazing throughout the house at 4am aren’t fooling anyone. In reality, you’re just raising your electric bill and allowing people to see inside your house better at night! Instead, leave them off. Or consider a Verizon Smart Accessory like the WeMo programmable light switch.

Hold Your Mail

If you’re traveling for an extended period of time, consider putting a hold on your mail or arrange for a trusted friend to pick it up while you’re away. Overflowing mailboxes and packages that don’t get removed from the front porch are a huge red flag that no one is home.

Monitor Your Home On the Go

It’s difficult to have a truly relaxing vacation when you’re worried about what might be happening at home. Having a friend check in on the house while you’re gone is comforting but should something go wrong, they likely won’t find out until after the fact. Which is why I recommend everyone should have a home monitoring system of some sort. Verizon Wireless has a variety of Smart Home accessories that make it easy to check in while you’re away like the new Sengled Snap HD Camera, which I am currently obsessing over. (Why didn’t *I* think of this?!?)



Snap combines a wireless HD camera with an energy-efficient LED light bulb for keeping an eye on your property. Just place the all-weather, year round Snap over an entryway or garage and viola! You can monitor your surroundings around the clock right from your smart phone. The ultra-wide HD camera streams or records high-quality video. Watch it in real time, receive intelligent alerts when activity is detected and store video in the cloud for future review.Best of all you don’t have to be a handy man to get peace of mind. Snap runs on a Wi-Fi connection for easy install – no wires! Just twist Snap into the socket, download the Snap app, create your account and follow the instructions.

You can win one right here!

Yep, that’s right! Thanks to Verizon Wireless and Sengled, one lucky Surf and Sunshine reader will be able to try out this awesome new gadget for themselves (I’m jealous!). To enter this giveaway, just fill in the widget below. Good luck!

Want more?

My fellow #VZWBuzz influencers are each featuring a different Verizon Smart Home Accessory that you can enter to win! Be sure to check them out below:

Ring Video Doorbell from Enza’s Bargains

Noke Bluetooth Lock from Robyn’s World

Fitbit Surge from Baby Savers

I am a Verizon Wireless #VZWBuzz Lifestyle Ambassador. This giveaway is sponsored by Verizon Wireless. All opinions remain my own.