With one in five Australians having had their home robbed, that sinking feeling that you’ve lost precious valuables or the horrible sense that someone has been lurking in your personal space is one too many of us are familiar with.
‘Why me’ is often asked by the victims of these crimes, but the reality is that it probably wasn’t personal at all. Most break-ins or robberies occur simply because the burglar had the opportunity to do so.
If you’re ready to get smart about your home and garage security, the first step is to think like a burglar – starting by protecting the entry way to your property, the garage door.
Here are Merlin’s top tips to take your home and garage off the burglars ‘to do list’:
Fact: 40 per cent of burglars use an unlocked door as their entry point
While most of us are usually vigilant when it comes to closing and locking the house doors, the garage door can be easy to overlook or forget altogether. Who hasn’t had that moment lying in bed where you wonder if anyone remembered to shut the garage door?
Technology has made it is easy to address this flaw in our home security plans. With myQ, you can check whether your garage door is opened or closed at any given moment, so you’ll never have to worry about leaving the garage door unlocked again. You’ll receive an immediate notification to your phone, allowing you to act quickly and protect your security if something seems not quite right.
Fact: 35 per cent of people admitting to leaving a spare key out
For many of us, there’s a sense of safety achieved by leaving a spare key out, ensuring we’ll always be able to gain access to our home should we accidentally misplace or lose our main set of keys. Yet, by a mean twist of fate, this can compromise our home security should the spare set of keys end up in the wrong hands.
myQ technology will offer you improved peace of mind, knowing that you’ll always have access to your home – with or without your keys.
Similarly, should you go away or need to grant someone access to your home while you’re out, with the simple tap of a finger, you’ll be able to allow visitors entry through the garage using the myQ App. With myQ, you won’t need to compromise your security for the practicality of a spare key!
Fact: Nearly six in ten people allow couriers to leave parcels in plain sight
According to research conducted by Pureprofile, one in four Australians have had parcels stolen from their doorstep. During this COVID-19 time where online shopping has, for the most part, replaced in-store shopping, thieves have increased opportunity to steal packages, especially when with 58.7 per cent of homeowners allow couriers to leave parcels in plain sight.
With the myQ App, you’ll have the opportunity to let couriers drop parcels into your garage instead, also receiving a notification to let you know once the garage door has been safely closed when they’ve left, so you’ll never experience the disappointment of a stolen parcel again.
Most of the Merlin garage door opener range is compatible with myQ technology. Check out our range of compatible openers here or call 1800 638 234 for more information.