CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - Millions of Americans will leave their homes behind over the Christmas holiday, but there are ways to keep your home from looking like an easy target to burglars.

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) data shows more than 2,800 North Carolina homes were burglarized last December.

Las Vegas injury law firm, Ladah Injury & Car Accident Lawyers, analyzed December FBI burglary data from 2020-2023, and found North Carolina ranks ninth in the nation with 31.76 burglary incidents per 100,000 people. South Carolina ranked 10th, their study showed.

If you're going out of town, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) offers practical tips to keep your property safe like:

- Hold or to have someone pick up your mail/newspaper.

- Don't hide a key outside for visiting friends and relatives.

- Don't have valuables visible through windows.

- Don't advertise new gifts or purchases. Break up the cartons before leaving them at the curb.

- Lock all doors and windows.

Security experts also recommend not posting on social media that you're going out of town.

"Definitely advise against it, I don't ever ever do that," Tracy Williams, who flew into Charlotte for Christmas, said. "For the most part I try to ease out without anybody really knowing I'm going except for a few people, and ease back in."

Charlotte-Douglas International Airport is expecting record travel this holiday season, with an estimated 3 million passengers arriving or flying out of the airport between now and January 5.