Enhancing home security for the holidays

Packages on your doorstep. After-work celebrations. Traveling hundreds of miles to grandma’s, leaving your home empty…

For porch pirates and burglars, the holidays can be the most wonderful time of the year. While you’re out and about taking in the festivities or visiting family, your valuables may be vulnerable. But with a smarter, more secure home, you can have the peace of mind and protection you deserve during the holiday season and all year long.

One way to enjoy a happier, less-stressful holiday season is with the assurance of a quality home security system that can help you monitor your property even when you’re away. A system featuring a high-quality doorbell- or outdoor-camera can help you keep an eye on deliveries and even discourage potential porch pirates. Plus, with a remote app as part of your security solution, you can check on your home from anywhere.

A closer look at porch piracy

The convenience of online shopping and home delivery for practically everything has changed consumer behavior. But the new era of convenience has also presented an opportunity for thieves. As the numbers show, porch piracy has indeed become one of our biggest home security challenges, and not only during the holiday season.

According to an analysis by SafeWise,ⁱ in 2023:

• Porch pirates cost Americans nearly $16 billion
• An estimated 120 million packages were stolen
• 73% of study respondents had a package stolen within the year and 79% experienced multiple thefts

Given the scale of this criminal epidemic, 8 U.S. states have made package theft a felony: Texas, Michigan, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Georgia, New Jersey and Kentucky. And stealing U.S. Postal Service mail can be prosecuted as a federal crime.     

Ways to discourage porch pirates

As highlighted in a Vivint Blog article,ⁱⁱ there are several ways you can work to outsmart porch pirates.

• Get tracking information – An easy way to know when to expect your package. Most delivery services, like the U.S. Postal Service, FedEx and UPS, offer tracking notifications.
• Have packages delivered to work – Eliminate the uncertainty of an unattended delivery on your doorstep
• Count on your neighbors – Reach out to nearby friends who may be at home to sign for, receive or grab your packages
• Require a signature – Adds an extra layer of security and assurance
• Get a Vivint Doorbell Camera Pro – Equipped with advanced functionality and smart integrations. The Vivint Doorbell Camera Pro is designed to enhance front porch security and deter package thieves.

Keeping an eye on your doorstep with Vivint

Reliant has proudly partnered with Vivint to offer customers whole-home solutions that include reliable Vivint home security and smart home innovation, powered by Reliant. Vivint offers professionally monitored, expertly installed systems that can be easily customized to fit any need.  

Among Vivint’s signature innovations is the advanced Doorbell Camera Pro. According to Vivint.com, “the Doorbell Camera Pro doesn’t just notify you when packages arrive. It’s the only video doorbell camera that proactively protects them.”

How does it do this? Per Vivint.com, here a few of the features that make the Vivint Doorbell Camera Pro a standout when it comes to home security cameras and monitoring.

• Smart Deter – The LED light ring illuminates to let porch pirates know they’ve been spotted
• Wide-angle lens – 180^o x 180^o for the widest field of view
• Smart detection – See when a package is delivered and removed from your doorstep
• Detection zones – Know when someone is lurking in customizable detection zones
• Keep recording – Even if your WiFi goes down, your cam can keep recording
• Night vision – You’ll see clearly day or night with infrared night vision

Looking closer at the Vivint Doorbell Camera Pro’s 24/7 recording capabilities, users will find a built-in SD card that enables fast clip loading with less buffering. Plus, through Vivint Playback, the camera records continuously for 10 days, even if the Wi-Fi goes down. And with Vivint Smart Clips and event markers, you can quickly and easily find find the moments that matter. Plus, through the Vivint app, it’s easy to monitor the camera feed and control smart home features from anywhere. 

Energizing your celebrations with safety in mind

Discouraging porch pirates is one way to have a more peaceful holiday. Another is by making sure your plugged-in décor is safe for your family, your guests and even your pets. Colorful lights, seasonal foliage and even that crackling fireplace are beautiful, but also can present unwanted hazards. Thankfully, with some basic precautions and a little common sense, your holiday can go off without a hitch.

U.S. Department of Energy holiday lighting tips

At energy.gov, you’ll find a lot of simple tipsⁱⁱⁱ specifically related to safe holiday lighting. Here are a few worth noting:

• Only use indoor lights indoors, and outdoor lights, outdoors. Plus, choose the right ladder for the task when hanging lights
• Replace light sets that have broken or cracked sockets, frayed or bare wires, or loose connections
• Don’t nail, tack or stress wiring when hanging lights; keep plugs off the ground away from moisture

More lighting and electricity safety tips from the Electrical Safety Foundation International 

The Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) at esfi.org also offers a list of helpful safety tips surrounding holiday electricity and lighting use. Here are a few helpful standouts:

• Avoid running extension cords under rugs or furniture
• Using an electric space heater? Switch it off before leaving the room
• Turn off your decorations when you’re not at home or you're going to sleep
• Arc-Fault Circuit Interrupter (AFCI) breakers or outlets can reduce the risk of electrical fires. Ask a licensed electrician about AFCIs for your home.

And don’t forget:Keep holiday foliage, your tree and any decorations clear of your fireplace or heat sources. Water your live tree to prevent it from drying out and becoming a fire hazard. Or, if you use an artificial tree, make sure it’s fire-resistant.

Stay holiday safe, intelligent and efficient with Vivint and Reliant

Reliant and Vivint are teaming up to help enhance your home security, intelligence and energy efficiency during the holidays and all year long. Because it’s always the season for some much-needed peace of mind, safety and energy efficiency.

ⁱ “Worst Metro Cities for Package Theft 2024”, Safewise.com, Nov. 2024

ⁱⁱ “Porch Pirates: the Rise of Package Theft”, Vivint Blog, Nov. 2024

ⁱⁱⁱ “Holiday safety”, energy.gov