Vicky Nguyen
Appearances
Dateline NBC
A "no body" murder trial in Mississippi. A Wisconsin dad fakes his death. Plus, keeping your home safe during the holidays.
The most basic thing, Andrea, is to lock your doors and windows. I know people want to say, oh, I live in this neighborhood. It's so great. We leave our doors unlocked. Well, there are bad guys and they may drive into your neighborhood. So the most basic, simple security thing that you can do is making sure you lock your doors and windows.
Dateline NBC
A "no body" murder trial in Mississippi. A Wisconsin dad fakes his death. Plus, keeping your home safe during the holidays.
If you are planning to leave for an extended period of time, talk to your neighbors. Let them know that you're going to be gone. The dates are Leave a key with them so that they can keep an eye on your property for you. Something else to think about. A lot of times people have home security systems, but they don't really use them when they're at home. Test it.
Dateline NBC
A "no body" murder trial in Mississippi. A Wisconsin dad fakes his death. Plus, keeping your home safe during the holidays.
Make sure that thing works and that you know that it's hooked up to your phone and it will alert you if something's going on at your home when you're gone. And finally, remember what you're posting on social media. Matters as well.
Dateline NBC
A "no body" murder trial in Mississippi. A Wisconsin dad fakes his death. Plus, keeping your home safe during the holidays.
We talk about this with our kids, but you don't need to post in real time your location because what you're doing is letting anybody who knows you know that you're not at your home. Save those vacation photos, those family photos for posting when you get back. Yeah.
Dateline NBC
A "no body" murder trial in Mississippi. A Wisconsin dad fakes his death. Plus, keeping your home safe during the holidays.
Yeah. These days, there are so many simple and inexpensive ways to do that when it comes to lighting. For example, installing some basic motion lights that just have lights coming on and off when someone walks by or walks onto your property. Another one is setting a light on a timer. I mean, you can buy these timers for under $20. They're relatively easy to install.
Dateline NBC
A "no body" murder trial in Mississippi. A Wisconsin dad fakes his death. Plus, keeping your home safe during the holidays.
And you just set them to go on and off at random times. That makes it look like someone's at home. Something else to always remember. for the magazine subscriptions, the newspapers, the mail. There are simple ways to pause delivery. Or if you've got that trusted neighbor, asking them to send a kid over for the week that you're gone to come by and collect your mail every day.
Dateline NBC
A "no body" murder trial in Mississippi. A Wisconsin dad fakes his death. Plus, keeping your home safe during the holidays.
And then finally, this tip I think is very interesting. Having a car parked in your driveway, moving in and out, definitely makes it seem like someone is home. Ideally, you're parking your car in your garage. That's the most secure. But maybe you have a neighbor who has a teenager who has an extra car and they're always parking it on the street.
Dateline NBC
A "no body" murder trial in Mississippi. A Wisconsin dad fakes his death. Plus, keeping your home safe during the holidays.
Offer up your driveway for the week or two that you're gone. That's a great way to make it look like someone's home and to protect your property.
Dateline NBC
A "no body" murder trial in Mississippi. A Wisconsin dad fakes his death. Plus, keeping your home safe during the holidays.
Well, number one, consider investing in one of those safes that you can put. And don't put it in your closet in your primary bedroom. Put it in an unexpected location because sometimes those burglars can take the entire safe with them. But it's good not just for when you're away. It's good for fireproofing documents as well as valuable, expensive jewelry.
Dateline NBC
A "no body" murder trial in Mississippi. A Wisconsin dad fakes his death. Plus, keeping your home safe during the holidays.
So getting a safe, putting your most valuable things into that safe out of sight is important. Another very simple thing to do, though, make sure that your laptop, your tablets, your car keys. are not within the visual sight line of anybody looking into your kitchen window or your living room window.
Dateline NBC
A "no body" murder trial in Mississippi. A Wisconsin dad fakes his death. Plus, keeping your home safe during the holidays.
Some people go so far as to move and rearrange their furniture so that you can't see their television or their valuable china that's in a cabinet. If you can do that, go for it. You might be inclined to just say, I'm not going to bother with any of this, Vicki. I'm just going to close my curtains. You don't want to actually close all of your curtains.
Dateline NBC
A "no body" murder trial in Mississippi. A Wisconsin dad fakes his death. Plus, keeping your home safe during the holidays.
That is a surefire sign to signal to burglars, hey, nobody's home. All their windows and curtains have been closed this entire time. So just strategically close some of them, the ones that are open. Make sure there's nothing of value within the sight line.
Dateline NBC
A "no body" murder trial in Mississippi. A Wisconsin dad fakes his death. Plus, keeping your home safe during the holidays.
Unplug your appliances. Not only is that safe in case there's a power surge, but it's also going to save you some money on your energy bill. The Fire Safety Research Institute also recommends closing every door in your home because that can slow down the spread of a fire. You can go on YouTube and see it.
Dateline NBC
A "no body" murder trial in Mississippi. A Wisconsin dad fakes his death. Plus, keeping your home safe during the holidays.
It's remarkable the difference between what happens inside a room when the door is closed versus when it's open.
Dateline NBC
A "no body" murder trial in Mississippi. A Wisconsin dad fakes his death. Plus, keeping your home safe during the holidays.
Great to be with you.
Dateline NBC
A "no body" murder trial in Mississippi. A Wisconsin dad fakes his death. Plus, keeping your home safe during the holidays.
You don't want to actually close all of your curtains. That is a surefire sign to signal to burglars, hey, nobody's home.