14 Life-Saving Tips You Might Not Know But Definitely Should, Shared By This Private Investigator (2024)

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It is a door wedge. These are perfect for if you're traveling, especially if you're a female traveling alone. It has an alarm on it. So, you wedge it in the door. If somebody opens the door, the pedal goes down and sets an alarm off. You're alarmed that somebody is trying to enter the hotel room or the Airbnb that you're in, or your home. And these are absolutely great, you can buy these in packs of like 2, 4, or whatever. Here's a little photo of what that looks like in the door in case anybody needs the visual.

jadeesavv Report

I hope the moms don't come for me for this one, but stop posting your kids' school online. Just in general, it's not safe. But piggybacking off of what I just said, if I've gone to your work and you're not there, and I know that you pick up your kid from school and I know where your kid goes to school, my next stop is your kid's school. You're quite literally leaving a footprint, a pattern on the internet for people to find you and your kids.

jadeesavv , note thanun Report

Stop tagging yourself in places when you're still there. Save the photo or the video, post it after you've left. I can't explain how many times I've been sitting outside of somebody's house. I can't figure out why they're not there. Where are they at? Go to Instagram. They've tagged themselves at the café across the street, and sure enough, there they are. It's not safe to do. When you are out, stop leaving a footprint of where people can find you. Piggybacking off of that, don't tag places that you frequent. Don't tag your gym, don't tag the coffee shop that you go to every Tuesday at 2:00 PM. People can start understanding your patterns and your habits, and that's not good. You don't want people who don't know you to start to know you.

jadeesavv , RR Abrot Report

If you're walking through a parking lot, please don't be looking down at your phone. Please, please, please make sure that you're aware of your surroundings. That's so, so important, especially when you're in big parking lots like a mall or Target or something like that. Always make sure that you have both hands free and just don't be distracted when you're in a parking lot. If you ever feel like someone is following you, drive straight to the police station. Don't go near your neighborhood. Don't go to your mom's house. Go straight to the police station. It'll spook whoever's following you, and if not, at least you're at the police.

jadeesavv , Anna Shvets Report

When you're going outta town for a week, don't post about it on social media. Don't tell the internet that your house is gonna be unsupervised for seven whole days while you're on vacation. It's very much giving Home Alone. It's very much giving McCauley Culkin. You're giving people an invitation to break into your home.

jadeesavv , Pixabay Report

It may sound silly to some, but please lock your garage door. Please, it's another entrance into your home. Please make sure your garage door is locked.

jadeesavv , Sean Foster Report

Having one of these birdy alarms is great. You can attach it to your key chain. If you feel like you're in danger and you're in a public place, you hit the alarm. It makes a scene, everybody's looking, and it really can save your life.

jadeesavv Report

Stop posting where you work on Facebook. Your aunt doesn't need to know you just got hired at the bank. Just call her and tell her that. If you're out at the bar and somebody thinks you're really cute, they find out your name, they find your social media, they don't know your address, but they know where you work. Now they can sit outside of your work and wait for you to come out. They can lurk in the distance and they can follow you home. And now they do know where you live.

jadeesavv , Juan Pablo Serrano Arenas Report

I feel like I shouldn't have to say this but, unfortunately, I do. Stop leaving your blinds open. Close your blinds. When I go out on surveillance, I can see everything inside of your house. And I zoom in on my little camera and I can see what you're watching on TV. I can see everything. It's like a gold mine. Stop leaving your blinds open.

jadeesavv , Andrew Neel Report

Don't forget to lock your windows. We have a tendency to open our windows and then we'll close them and walk away. We forget to lock them. This leaves yourself really vulnerable for if people are walking around trying to look for open windows.

jadeesavv , Alistair MacRobert Report

I saw some comments saying, "I don't have a lock on my garage door" or "I'm a college student, what do you suggest for safety?"

A tool like this is great. Essentially it's a door stopper. You put it underneath the doorknob, and if somebody tries to open the door, it stops the door and doesn't allow anybody in. This is great even if you have a lock on your door. I love to use these on my front door as well, because you can never be too careful in this world. Here's a little diagram on how it works. You can see it has a stopper and it's sitting underneath the doorknob so nobody can open the door.

jadeesavv Report

For my girlies, anything that looks inconspicuous but can be used as a weapon, I absolutely love.

This looks like a glittery lipstick tube, but it actually has a flashlight and a little zapper. It's multipurpose and it's great because it's inconspicuous and nobody would really know you had it on you. And I know that not everybody in every state is allowed to have these, but if you are, these are great to have.

jadeesavv Report

A tactical pen is always a good idea. It's quite literally a pen you can write with, but it also has multipurpose. It has a sharp end that can break glass. It has a flashlight and other uses as well.

jadeesavv Report

This is another great option, especially if you're traveling. It's very compact, yet very effective. And it's again, just a kind of another variation of a door stopper.

jadeesavv Report

Jade's TikTok followers appreciated the advice and shared their personal experiences

They also shared their own safety tips with their fellow TikTok users

Writer, BoredPanda staff

A writer here at Bored Panda, I am a lover of good music, good food, and good company, which makes food-related topics and feel-good stories my favorite ones to cover. Passionate about traveling and concerts, I constantly seek occasions to visit places yet personally unexplored. I also enjoy spending free time outdoors, trying out different sports—even if I don’t look too graceful at it—or socializing over a cup of coffee.

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Author, BoredPanda staff

I'm a visual editor at Bored Panda. I kickstart my day with a mug of coffee bigger than my head, ready to tackle Photoshop. I navigate through the digital jungle with finesse, fueled by bamboo breaks and caffeine kicks. When the workday winds down, you might catch me devouring bamboo snacks while binging on the latest TV show, gaming or I could be out in nature, soaking up the tranquility and communing with my inner panda.

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