Real estate agents face unique safety challenges. Basic professional duties like showing vacant homes or meeting unknown prospects can make agents vulnerable. There are a number of basic precautions REALTORS® can take to stay safe, though. Just in time for REALTOR® Safety Month, we've rounded up tips, training, and mobile apps that can prevent the worst from happening.

Mobile Apps

Built-in GPS tracking makes your smartphone a powerful safety tool. The following apps let you contact and be accurately located by authorities and loved ones in case of an emergency.

• React Mobile - Notify a wide network of contacts about your location with one touch whenever you feel your safety is in danger. They'll then be able to track your location until you tap the app's green "I'm Safe" key.
• Guardly Safety App - Conference call, text, or email up to 15 safety contacts with one touch. GPS tracking, along with the ability to take and share photos of your surroundings, ensures pinpoint location if you're lost or abducted.
• MyForce - This subscription service has premium features like dimming your phone to avoid detection and recording audio and video of emergencies. Users can also set up "safe words" that help operators verify your situation and take action to help you.

Training

Safety isn't just for real estate agents--your clients face security issues, too! Learn how to protect your sellers from crime during this webinar from The National Association of REALTORS®. Police sergeant Preston Taylor will teach agents how they can help sellers protect their property during showings.

Learn more about:

• Open House Safety - The high traffic of open houses can be a challenge. These 5 tools help ensure the safety of your sellers, their property, and yourself.
• Keeping Listings Safe - How can you better ensure the safety of your sellers' homes? These eight tips will show you how.
• Safety During Showings and Meeting New Prospects - Entering vacant houses and meeting unknown people can make agents vulnerable targets. Incorporate these common sense ideas into your work routine to protect yourself.
• Digital Safety - Your personal data needs to be protected, too. Take common sense steps like using an alternate email or fake birthday to prevent online identity theft. Strong passwords are important, too. Always use at least 10 characters--a mix of numbers and letters of different capitalization is best.