11 Smart Products That Can Fool Thieves Into Thinking You're Home

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Burglars love an empty house. They scan the street for dark windows, quiet driveways, and packages piling up on the porch, hoping for an easy score. The way your home looks on the outside can invite trouble, but it can also throw them off the scent. Smart security solutions can make it look like you're home when you're not, leaving would-be thieves to guess about your location and decide if it's worth the risk.

These devices use randomness as their disguise. They play with timing and mimic real habits. So instead of broadcasting to others that no one is home, people are left to second-guess, and this might be just enough to send burglars elsewhere. Keep in mind that no technology is completely foolproof. There's always a risk, but certain tools can stack the odds in your favor. That's the whole point – you only need to be a less tempting target than the houses around you. Here are 11 smart products that can fool a thief into thinking you're not home.

One of the most basic home security devices, motion-sensing floodlights give the illusion of being home. Motion triggers the light to come on, reducing the intruder's cover of darkness. Adding a smart element to this classic fixture, users can control the floodlights from anywhere. If you're traveling and forgot to activate your floodlights or just want to know when something makes the lights turn on, you can use an app to control your lights remotely.

Smart Wi-Fi floodlights, like these from Orien on Amazon, connect to your home's Wi-Fi and can be controlled from anywhere. You can choose whether to have the lights turn on via motion sense or stay on whenever it's dark outside. There's also a security mode that will trigger the lights to flash and send you notifications to your phone whenever the lights activate. You can set the brightness for the lights and adjust the angle of each light to shine where you need it. While in security mode, the flashing lights can help to deter intruders, making it look like you're home so they'll be scared off.

Your home's windows are a direct indicator of its liveliness. When you're home, you're more likely to open the blinds or shades and embrace natural light. And when you're gone, you might feel inclined to close all the blinds so people can't see what's inside. Burglars know this, and might watch your house for days to learn its patterns. Not opening your curtains for several days is a telltale sign you're not home.

Smart motorized shades, like these from Graywind on Amazon, solve this issue. These smart shades work with Alexa and can be controlled remotely via an app. You can set schedules for your shades to roll up or down, giving the illusion you're at home operating the shades yourself. Even better, you can set them to open or close at different heights. These little imperfections don't go unnoticed, and they could be enough to ward off burglars who have been paying attention.

Video doorbells have proven their worth in many ways. They help you see who's at the door before you open it. They catch would-be porch pirates on camera, and they help you see who's coming and going from your home when you're not there. They can also serve as a burglar deterrent, too.

Given the popularity of video doorbells, most people recognize them as video-capable compared to traditional doorbells. This means when a burglar approaches your home, they might already realize they've been caught before they commit the crime. For some, this might be enough to send them away and avert a crisis. And if they choose to stay, you'll have them on camera, ready to share with the police. The Wyze Video Doorbell is one example of a smart doorbell that lets you view the area around your door remotely. You don't need to purchase a monitoring subscription (though this is an option if you want the extra security and features), and you'll get an alert whenever someone comes within the doorbell camera's view.

Doorbell cameras and regular security cameras are pretty much dead giveaways. Burglars who have done a few break-ins know to look for them, and likely know how to avoid them. But some cameras aren't as obvious, like the Lorex Smart Lightbulb Camera. Instead of sticking out like a sore thumb, this camera looks more like a lightbulb than a security device. It also functions as a lightbulb to throw a thief off the trail.

The best part about using a dual-function security camera like the Lorex is that you can trick thieves into thinking you're home while capturing their image. Since this camera is also a working smart light, you can set up lighting schedules to come on at night and turn off during the day. If you have more than one Lorex camera, you can choose to synchronize their on and off schedules or have them turn on at varying times, which may support the illusion that you're home. The camera can rotate 360 degrees to give you full coverage of your property, with images in 2K resolution (unlike the grainy images of older security cameras).

If you plan to be gone for an extended period of time (like a week or more), thieves might take notice of your absence by the way your lawn appears. You won't be home to cut grass or treat weeds, and a tall yard is a clear sign you haven't been home in a while. A robotic lawn mower solves this problem by cutting your grass on a schedule, even when you're not home.

The Husqvarna Automower 435X is one example of a robot lawn mower. Think of it as a Roomba for your yard. It can connect to your smart home hub or be controlled by an app, with the ability to cut up to an acre of grass. These mowers have a built-in GPS to keep track of where they've been and where their boundaries are. They run on rechargeable batteries, and like a robot vacuum cleaner, the mower will return to its docking station when it needs a recharge. Not all robot mowers are created equal, though. Some offer phone remote control, while others lack Wi-Fi connectivity. Still, this could be a helpful solution if you're going to be away from home for an extended period of time and don't want others to know it. As a bonus, you get to come home to a neatly trimmed lawn.

Every time a package comes to sit in front of your door, it broadcasts a message to all who can see it: The owner is probably not home. If you're gone for several days at a time, those packages will keep piling up and sending that same message over and over. Granted, you could have someone come to your house to collect mail and packages on your behalf while you're away. But if you prefer to have your packages at home when you arrive, a smart package vault might make sense.

This smart package vault on Amazon is made to prevent package theft. As an added bonus, it can also help conceal when you're not home since your packages won't be in a visible pile on your front porch. The robust vault can hold multiple average-sized packages. It operates via an electronic keypad, where delivery drivers push a button to access the vault and place the packages inside. Once the package is placed inside, the vault requires a code (that only you know) to open the vault again. The vault also connects to an app on your phone and will send you alerts whenever the vault door opens. You can use the app to open the vault and reset the code in case you have more than one delivery while you're away. Solutions like these keep your packages hidden and stop telling everyone who passes by that you're not home.

Burglars often look for signs of life within the house. You could be doing all the right things, like leaving on the lights and keeping your grass cut. But if your house is silent and still, would-be thieves might see through your charades. One product that can mimic a bustling hive of activity is a TV simulator, like this one from FakeTV.

FakeTV is a unique device that uses different colored energy-efficient LED lights to simulate a television playing inside the home. When televisions are on, they flicker in various colors and brightness levels. This compact device creates a similar effect to simulate scene changes. It fades and brightens automatically, making it look like someone is inside watching TV in real time. Unlike many smart deterrents, this one doesn't require Wi-Fi to work. You can set the device to activate around dusk, and it will continue to operate for five hours.

Many of the smart theft deterrent devices on the market work individually, where you can control them each with an app for that product. But many of them also have the ability to connect to a smart home hub, like the Amazon Echo Pop. This Alexa-powered smart speaker can sync your smart devices into a single workflow that sets your home up for your extended absence. It supports common devices like smart bulbs, smart plugs, and smart cameras, and you can set schedules and operate them remotely without having to manage individual apps.

The Amazon Echo Pop is among the smallest smart speakers. You can place it pretty much anywhere in your home. As long as it has power and is connected to your Wi-Fi, you can count on it to help defend your home. To help make your home look alive, you can use the Echo Pop to set timers and alarms, play music at specific times, or operate your other smart security devices. Use it to turn on lights or open and close your smart shades. Smart devices are often better when they work together.

Using smart bulbs inside and outside your home is among the lowest-hanging fruit for deterring criminals. These bulbs are fairly inexpensive and can be controlled from anywhere with your smartphone. Kasa Smart Bulbs are one option, allowing you to connect them to your home's Wi-Fi network and set schedules to turn them on and off.

Each Kasa smart bulb is dimmable, ranging from 1% to 100% brightness. You can adjust the brightness according to each room in your home to make them look more realistic, similar to how you'd use them if you were home. For example, you might have brighter light in the kitchen and dimmer light in the bedrooms. Kasa also includes an "away mode," which will randomly turn the lights on and off to trick potential burglars. The light bulbs are easy to connect and use, and you can monitor their usage from your smartphone. These bulbs work with Alexa devices, but you do not need a smart home hub to use them.

Keeping your garage door closed the whole time you're away is a nice thought. It keeps would-be intruders out of your garage and gives them less cover in case they decide to break in. However, a garage door that stays closed for days is a clear sign that you haven't been around for a while. A better option is to open your garage door periodically, even if it's not for a long time. A smart garage door opener makes it possible.

Smart garage door openers, like this one from Chamberlain on Amazon, connect to your smartphone so you can control the door remotely. They remove that nagging question of "Did I remember to close the garage door?" any time you leave home. And if you're traveling for days at a time, you can open or close your garage door from anywhere, which means you can give access to your garage to family or friends remotely while keeping out unauthorized guests. The garage door opener works from a Wi-Fi-connected hub. Once connected, you can control it with your phone. These devices are not compatible with all garage doors, so you'll need to look closely at your garage door specs and the requirements of the smart device.

Burglars will look for any signs of life at a home they're watching. If they see things remaining unchanged for days at a time, you become a much more attractive target. One way to instill a little sense of life without being home is to run your sprinkler system. If you don't want to shell out for a whole system, this Wi-Fi sprinkler timer is the next best thing.

The timer connects directly to an outdoor spigot, with an additional attachment port for the water hose. Once installed and connected to your home Wi-Fi network, you can use the app to set schedules and control watering. This works for full irrigation systems as well as single sprinklers connected directly to a hose. Customize your watering schedule at any time via the app, including switching up your schedule each day to make it look like you're home rather than using a timer. If rain is already in the forecast, you can use the app to set up a rain delay to prevent overwatering, a smart move that can add to the credibility of someone being at home.