SmartSecurityPeople.com is pleased to provide the following campus safety and security tips for college bound students.

1. Do Not Stroll Around Campus After Hours- If you do, make sure you utilize the buddy system. If you don’t have a buddy available, call someone with your cellphone and talk to them during the walk back to your residence hall.
2. Be Careful Of What You Post On MySpace Or Facebook- Social Online Networking is the greatest and worst thing to hit the campus community. Don’t make yourself a target. Filter what you post on your account and control who has access.
3. Don’t Let Just Anyone In- If your campus has residence halls that have controlled access, please be aware that they do this for a reason. It is to keep bad people out. If you are going into your dorm and someone that you don’t know tries to follow in behind you, shut the door. If you see a suspicious person in your residence hall or on campus, call the security office. They are there to help. You should memorize their number or program it in your phone.
4. Get To Know Your Campus- The first week that you are on campus, you should familiarize yourself with the campus. You will be there for the next 4-5 years, so it will prove to be useful on many levels. Make note of the more common routes, the security phone locations, and the “safe zones” that your campus provides. That is why we also recommend #5….
5. Avoid Shortcuts- Especially after dark! This should go without saying. There is a reason why people are not taking the shortcuts. They are typically not the safest route, have very little to no lighting after dark, and always end up drawing the most unscrupulous of characters. Just avoid them and take the extra time to get to your destination safely.
6. Excessive Alcohol Consumption Is Never Good- I know, I know.. college campuses and alcohol consumption appear to always go hand-in-hand. We are not suggesting that you can not drink. You just need to drink responsibly. If you wake up the next morning and are missing half of your clothing, find a new tattoo and have no idea where you are at… you are probably drinking too much. If keeping yourself safe means drinking a little less, then so be it.
7. Do Not Leave Your Belongings Unattended- Bookbags and purses are the number one items that come up missing on campuses all the time. You may feel as though you can trust your environment and leave your bag at the table when you go to find another research book in the library or get another helping of food from the food court but if you leave your bag unattended you are taking a chance that it will not be there when you return. Take it with you or ask someone nearby to watch your stuff (assuming that you know them or at the very least they look like a trustworthy person). Besides… textbooks are expensive to replace!
8. Share Your Class Schedule With Friends and Family- and no.. don’t post it up on MySpace or Facebook for all to see (refer to #2 above). If your friends and family have your schedule each semester, it gives them a good idea of when they can expect to see or talk with you.  If you are ever going somewhere outside of the normal schedule, let someone know. Also, tell them when you think you may be back. It just makes good sense.
9. Don’t Carry Cash- This should be easy for most college students just because they don’t typically have a lot of cash. However, we at SmartSecurityPeople.com encourage you to keep cash in the bank and use your debit or credit card for your purchases on and off campus. Also, cash under your mattress in your dorm room is a bad idea as well!
10. Visit the Security Office- When you are choosing a college and safety and security is an important factor, stop by the campus security office and ask them for a recent copy of their security report. By law they are required to make these available to everyone that asks. In the report they should have graphs, charts, and statistics showing the number of incidents they have had on campus during the last year. Most reports go back at least five years. While you are stopping by, ask them if they have a safety manual for their students. If they are a reputable security office, they should have something available in a handout or brochure form.

SmartSecurityPeople.com strongly encourages students to follow these Campus Safety and Security tips. We also recognize that while we have only published these ten tips, there are probably a lot more ideas out there amongst our peers. If you have additional suggestions to help out our college bound students, please feel free to share below.

Smart Security People recognizes that Identity Theft is a growing trend in our nation and around the world. That is why we are pleased to provide you with the top ten most effective methods to protect your identity from unscrupulous characters.

1. Move to the Ozarks! - not really.. The upstanding citizens living in the Ozark Mountains are just as much at risk for identity theft as someone living in New York city. What they have going for them though is that they are “off the grid”. Living in a remote area of the country with little to no access to technological advances certainly makes it harder for someone to have their identity stolen. Statistics actually show that North Dakota is the best place to live and avoid identity theft. If you are curious as to how your state ranks, give this map a whirl.
2. Get Your Free Credit Reports Now! - Seriously.. right now!!  However, please don’t go to freecreditreports.com. The service that they provide is far from free. You need to go to annualcreditreport.com This site is maintained by the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) and it allows you to get a free credit report from each of the three credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, Trans Union) every 12 months. What you want to do is get your free credit reports but spread them out throughout the year so that you always have a good snapshot of what is going on with your credit file. For example, get the free credit report from Experian in April, Trans Union in August, and Equifax in December.
3. Pay in Cash! - This is a really antiquated approach to protecting your identity and Smart Security People only recommends this tactic if you are truly worried about the security and safety of your identity. Did you know that every time you pay someone with a check you give them everything they need to know to steal your identity? Each paper check you write has your bank routing number, your bank account number, the check number (lets identity thieves know how established your account is), and usually your address (with phone number). That is why Smart Security People recommends that you…#4
4. Use A Credit Card - Did you know that when you use your debit card, you are giving everyone direct access to your checking account? When you use a credit card, you are giving everyone access to your credit account which carries fraud protection and allows you to dispute and not pay for charges that you did not authorize. If someone fraudulently uses your debit card account, you can still dispute the charges with the bank but it can take weeks for them to research your account before replacing your money. Pay with credit card and make one transaction out of your checking each month to pay it off.
5. Never Mail Anything From Your Home - Identity thieves love to go through your mail. They especially like to snag your outgoing mail which may include private information from credit card applications or checks that you are paying your mortgage and utilities with. They drive around neighborhoods and see the little red flags popped up on your mailboxes and think it is Christmas time. To combat this, you should always drop your outgoing mail in one of those blue R2D2 shaped USPS receptacles on the corners that you pass while going to or from work. If your financial institution offers a free bill pay service, you may want to enroll in this. It will keep less of your paper checks from circulating through the mail system.
6. Bring In The Experts - If you find that your schedule is hectic and you have very little to no time to dedicate to the protection of your identity, then you will want to sign up with someone that does have time and can help you. Two top ranked companies that provide this type of service are LifeLock and TrustedID. These companies can keep a close watch on your identity and alert you immediately when someone attempts to apply for credit using your good name.
7. Don’t Go Phishing! - More importantly though, don’t be a target of phishing. By now everyone has already gotten the “Your PayPal Account is under review for suspicious transactions, please log in to confirm the status of your account”.  PayPal is a popular target for phishing but it is not uncommon to get similar phishing emails under another bank name. The emails are coming from people that have set up databases in third world countries and are hoping that you will click on the link in their email and supply them with your user name and password. Fortunately, if you quickly realize that your account has been compromised, you can change that information before they have a chance to sell it out on the identity theft black market.  If you don’t remember anything else about phishing scams or questionable emails, please remember these 2 things. DO NOT CLICK ON ANY OF THE SUPPLIED LINKS IN THE EMAIL & ALWAYS OPEN UP A NEW BROWSER WINDOW AND LOG INTO THE ACCOUNT IN QUESTION USING YOUR OWN BOOKMARKS OR BY TYPING THE WEB ADDRESS.
8. Log out. Log Out. Log Out - Computer labs are a pretty common occurrence now-a-days. You can find them at cyber cafes, public libraries, college campuses, airport terminals, etc… If you ever find yourself using one of these(which we hope you don’t!), please make sure that you log out of any accounts that you were accessing during your session. A lot of web browsers remember your data and unless you hit the LOGOUT button, your account will remain open and accessible just by someone hitting the BACK BUTTON on the web browser.
9. Invest In A Shredder!  - Dumpster Diving has taken on new form. It used to be that people would lurk through the trash of others to try and find something of value. What is the old adage “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”? That same saying still rings true. However, the dumpster divers of today are looking for a different kind of treasure. They are looking for your personal and private information. Anything you throw away that contains this type of information should be shredded first. Ideally you want a cross-cut shredder for the best impact but any shredder will do. Even just ripping stuff in half or quarters would be better than throwing whole documents away.
10. Be Aware Of Your Financial Activities - Keep track of your bank and credit card statements. You should know when these come to you each month. If for some reason you stop getting these, it is possible that your account has been taken over and diverted to go somewhere else. When you do get your statements, take a few moments to quickly look over the transactions and make sure that everything is as it should be. If you keep your receipts you should be able to do a quick reconciliation to confirm each transaction.

Smart Security People understands that there are more than ten approaches to helping protect your identity. However, we have come up with this list to help jumpstart your path to maintaining your identity as your own. If you have any other suggestions to share with our readers, please feel free to share. The more we know, the better prepared we will all be.

There are many ways to secure your home, your family, and your belongings. This article represents the top ten approaches that Smart Security People have recognized as being the most effective in keeping intruders at bay and your family safe.

1. Lock Your Doors: I know that this sounds very basic and you would think that it is a “no brainer” but folks really need to make sure they lock their doors. It is the easiest approach to securing your home.
2. Lock Your Windows: Again.. this is one of the easiest things you can do but people seem to forget the obvious. Especially make sure that you lock and secure windows that are on the lower level and may be obscured by bushes or privacy fencing. Window air conditioners are popular entry methods for burglars, make sure those are secured as well. Lastly, put up some curtains or blinds. It maintains the privacy of your home and belongings… and besides.. your neighbors will be grateful as well. (Remember.. “ugly naked guy” from FRIENDS?)
3. Invest In A Light Timer: This is really important if you plan on being away from your house for a period of time and you want your home to maintain the “lived in” look to those passing by.
4. Install Motion Lights Outside Your Home: Motion lights, when first introduced, used to be very pricey and only the more affluent could afford them. Now you can get them just about anywhere (Lowes, Home Depot, Ace, WalMart, etc..) and you can pick them up for less than the cost of a meal at a sit-down restaurant.
5. Adopt A Dog: Go to your local Humane Society and find the biggest, friendliest, most intimidating dog that you can find and take him home. Even though he may be a very nice dog, any potential intruder will pass by your home if he sees your “new best friend” in the window.
6. Get An Alarm System: If you feel that you need that extra level of security, get a monitored security system from ADT or get a self monitored system. One will cost you more than the other but each have their own unique benefits.
7. Don’t Let Your Mail Pile Up: If you are going on vacation, pay the neighbor kid a couple of bucks each day to pick up your mail and pile of newspapers accumulating at your doorstep. You can feel good about contributing to the responsibility and welfare of the kid next door and knowing that you don’t have a big “We’re Not Home” sign on your front porch. If you don’t like the neighbor kid, fill out a form at the post office to hold your mail and call your local newspaper as well.
8. Start a Neighborhood Watch Program: This is actually a great way to get to know your neighbors and the bright orange with black lettered signs that you put in your windows will be sure to get noticed. Also, if you live in a “seasoned” (older) community, chances are that you have some retired people that are looking for something to keep them occupied during the day. Give them badges and a big stick and put them on sidewalk patrol. You will be surprised at how effective it will be.
9. Don’t Park Your Car Outside: If you have no choice because your garage is filled with your Star Wars action figure collection (1st and 2nd generation), that is ok. Just be sure to bring in your garage door remote each night. Nothing is scarier than waking up in the morning to find your car window broken, your garage door open, and your life size replica of Yoda missing!
10. Get A Vault: You don’t have to get anything fancy that has biometric sensors, a laser guided opening mechanism, and a retina scannner. The cheap thing that you find at your local discount store (BigLots) will do just fine. If you have it in your budget, spring for the fire proof rated model. Keep any important documentation (Car Titles, Birth Certificates, Wills) and valuables (Rings, Cash, Gold) in this vault.

Now of course, this is only the top ten approaches (judged and ranked by Smart Security People) that you can take in making your home and valuables more secure. We are positive that there are many more tips and tricks that can be utilized.

What are some things that you have done around your home to make it more secure and safe?