Can safes, which are also called diversion safes, are a great way to hide cash, jewelry, watches and other valuables in plain sight. Can safes have come a long way from the early products that used fake brand names, such as 7-urp, as well as look-alike color and design schemes. These products stand out like a sore thumb to an experienced thief. Today’s most innovative and convincing can safes are designed using product containers from genuine consumer brand products.

A can safe is simply a safe place to store valuables because it is indistinguishable from other consumer products you may find in your home. The average thief spends less than six minutes rummaging through a home. Watch cable shows like, “It Takes a Thief” on the Discovery Channel and you will see how they operate. This show video tapes experienced thieves as they break into a real home and clean out all of its valuables.

If you think you are securing your cash and valuables by hiding them under clothes in a drawer, under the bed or in a closet, think again. Those are some of the first places where thieves look for valuables after hitting the more obvious places like jewelry boxes.

The best can safes are those that fool a thief into thinking that they are looking at something that has no resale value in their market for selling stolen goods. That is why common household items make safer places to hide things. Their attention is diverted to other areas of the home where valuable items are usually found.

You will find a wide range of diversion safes on the market. Some of the best are made from popular soda pop cans, household cleaning products and personal hygiene products. The can safe converters basically take a genuine product, use special tools to cleanly cut either the top or the bottom of the can from the product. They then insert a special plastic bottle or fitting inside the can and mount screw-on threads to the top or bottom that they removed.

The better products take this one step further. Many of the soda cans contain a potting compound around an inserted inner bottle. This approximates the weight of a full can of soda pop. The Ajax cleanser can safe shown above still has the original tape seal on the top of the can, plus the storage compartment only takes up the lower portion of the can. If you place this under your sink and someone happens to pick it up and shake it, it feels and sounds just like a full container of Ajax cleanser.

Here is a tip if you decide to purchase one or two soda pop can safes. These are available for most popular brands of soda pop, such as 7-Up, A & W Root Beer, RC Cola, Dr. Pepper, etc. if you are going to use a soda pop can safe, make sure that you either place it on a pantry shelf with other similar cans or in the back of your refrigerator. These cans are so deceiving that is easy to mistakenly pick one up and pop the top, only to find that your can safe no longer looks like a sealed can of soda.

Our favorites are the Ajax Cleanser and a Barbasol Shaving Creme can safe. Both have lots of storage through a wide access cap in the bottom of the containers. The Barbasol can is particularly durable because the can used for the original product is very strong. We also like the fact that they look very natural under a sink where thieves are not likely to look for valuables.