Here's how your home could attract burglars over the holidays

Have you ever wondered whether your home security system or "Beware of Dog" sign actually keeps burglars away?

Well according to inmates currently serving time for burglary, these nine tips will help keep your home safe from burglaries:

1. Avoid tip-offs to an empty house such as lights being on while all windows and blinds are closed during the day.
2. Take a late lunch. Early afternoon is prime-time for burglaries. By 2:30pm anyone that was home for lunch should be gone and most kids are still in school.
3. Displaying home security signs don't faze burglars, but making your property visible with good lighting and trimmed bushes and trees will keep them away.
4. A deal-breaker for most burglars is hearing a dog on the premises - particularly a big breed.
5. Most burglars feared someone might be home if they heard a radio or TV. They wouldn’t break in.
6. If an alarm system went off, most intruders would leave immediately.
7. Generally, visible security cameras are a deterrent. But it can also signal there are valuables inside the home.
8. One of the best precautions you can take is leaving a car in the driveway.
9. Every inmate polled said they knock on the front door first. If someone answers? They pretend to have lost a pet or to be doing a survey.