ENCORE: Tips to Prevent a Home Burglary If You're Out of Town on July 4th

If you’re headed out of town for the Fourth of July holiday, make sure your home doesn’t become a target for opportunistic thieves.

Sgt. Ken O’Brien said a good general rule of thumb is to make your house look as occupied as possible while you’re away.

“Have lights come off and on automatically, pick up newspapers, things like that,” O’Brien said. “Try to make it look like it did when you were there.”

Police in a Gazette article are recommend watching your use of social media. By deceiving Facebook or Twitter followers into thinking you’re around, you could help keep cyber stalkers from cashing in on your absence.

For example, don’t post pictures of the trip with your cell phone or computer until after you get home.

If you want some extra security, consider subscribing to a third-party social media scheduling application such as Hootsuite.com, which allows you to schedule tweets, photos and Facebook messages ahead of time. That way, you can turn off the phone and focus on your family.

It’s also not a good idea to post details of your trip before or after leaving. In particular, avoid mention of events, dates or arrival and departure times.

Urbandale Police officer Randy Peterson offered these tips to our sister site, and they apply to all residents:

• Don't post that you're going on vacation before you leave.
• Don't post vacation photos until you return home.
• If you use your smart phone to take and post photos, change the settings so that it does not automatically post the location. If you don't know how to do that, take your phone into your company's store and they will show you how to do it. 
• Have your mail and the newspaper stopped.
• Set lights, or even better your television set, on timers so it looks like someone is home. 
• Ask a trusted neighbor to watch your house. "That's where it's great to know your neighbors," said Peterson, "so you can look out for each other."