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Take the Extra Step: 12 Ways to Protect Your Home from Burglars

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Though you cannot totally protect your home from getting burgled, you would probably be surprised to know that there are no burglars that are as sophisticated as someone like Ethan Hunt from the Mission Impossible movies. However, when you have the right plan in place, you can almost make your home burglar-proof.

When most people think about their home’s security, they only think of a couple of things, such as fake cameras. Though these are nice to have, they don’t fully protect you. A fake camera isn’t going to stop a burglar from kicking in the door. Speaking of the door, the only thing that is separating you and your belongings from a thief is ½ inch piece of pine molding. This isn’t enough. A 12-year-old boy could kick that in, in fact. Instead, it’s best to reinforce your door:

  • Install deadbolt/door knob wraps – these devices strengthen the area around the location of the lock
  • Door bar jammer – this device is put under the doorknob to stop it from moving
  • Door brace – this device makes it difficult to use brute force to kick it down
  • Door frame reinforcement – this is installed on the door and is made of steel

You also might consider something like a Door Devil. This is a kit that features a device molded from steel It is placed over the jamb of the door, and then screwed into the frame. It’s very easy to install, and adds another level of protection for your house. When you combine a device like the Door Devil with other types of security, such as a security system, detection lights, or cameras, it is difficult for a burglar to get in.

Here are 12 more tips to keep the burglars out:

  1. Keep all of your doors locked, even if you are home, and even if it is light out.
  2. Keep your curtains and blinds shut. This ensures that no one can peek inside of your house to check out your valuables.
  3. Use door reinforcements on each and every door and use top-flight locks.
  4. Place security films on the windows. This helps to strengthen the panes and prevents any object from coming in, including baseball bats and crow bars.
  5. Bring in all newspapers and mail in as soon as they get there.
  6. Give your home a look that it is lived in, even if you aren’t home. Set up automated lights to be on at night.
  7. PennyMac says Put a pair of scuffed and worn men’s work boots at the doors of your house.
  8. If you park your car in the driveway, place a pair of men’s gloves on the dashboard. When burglars see this, they often think twice about breaking in because they believe a large, burly man lives in the house.
  9. Put a large dog bowl outdoors by the door, and make it look real. Add a leash or chewed up dog toys, too.
  10. Trim up any shrubs that hide points of entrance into your home.
  11. Go online to the Google News site. Type in your city and state, and then the phrase “door kicked in.” Take a look at those results. You will likely be shocked by what you read.
  12. Consider buying a new home security system. The best systems out there not only give you a full alarm package, but also offer cameras, police monitoring, and a video feed, that allows you to view what’s happening in your home when you are not there. This way, you can easily watch the cameras from your mobile phone or tablet.

Robert Siciliano personal security and identity theft expert and speaker is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen. See him knock’em dead in this identity theft prevention video.

Home Security Cameras 101: Filming

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Before buying a security camera, ask yourself:

  • Where do you want to place it?
  • How well-hidden can it be or does it need to be?
  • Are you familiar with laws pertaining to filming people with or without their knowledge?

5HWhere is setting up the camera illegal? Bathrooms, locker rooms, dressing rooms and residences other than yours (unless you have that other individual’s permission to set it up for their use).

Assume this list is not complete; the bottom line is that video surveillance is prohibited where anyone could be naked or even partially nude. There may be some gray areas, however. In that case, consult with an attorney.

A gray area would be some kind of private room where a person might be undressing, such as a dressing room for a theatre production, a cabana at a country club or beach, or a mock dressing room for a model posing for an oil painting class.

What if you want to set up a camera in the locker room, dressing room or bathroom of a business you own—not to be nosy, but to catch any thieves or other criminal behavior?

Sorry, it’s against the law. The propensity to be partially naked wins out over the possibility of someone stuffing unpaid-for items in their pants or sexually assaulting someone in a bathroom stall.

But this doesn’t mean you can’t place cameras outside the targeted room, to capture entrances and exits on a timeline. Set the camera up so that it can’t capture activity inside the room when the door opens.

Home Cameras

  • The general rule is that if a scene is viewable to the public, your camera can be stationed to record it, such as the parking lot smack in front of your front door or the neighbor’s outdoor deck across the parking lot (where it’s not expected anyone will undress).
  • Though it’s legal to point a camera at the neighbors, it can incite them and cause you grief, including legal action against you (people can sue for anything and everything; doesn’t mean they’ll win, but the anticipated defense legal fees and the whole headache of being taken to court often convince the defendant to retract the behavior that triggered the lawsuit).
  • This is NOT legal advice. Consult your attorney and local laws.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

Preplan for a Safe Vacation

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Traveling is fun, exciting, tiring and depending on your destination, generally safe. But bad things can happen. The best thing you can do before you go, is prepare.

5HSafety Tips

  • Blend in on your vacation. Before you leave for your trip, plan out your arrival. Dress like the locals. Preparing to blend into the ambience before you leave ensures you won’t be accosted the second you get off the plane. Don’t stick out like a sore thumb dressed in Western attire while you roam around a city where most women are wearing robes or the men are wearing turbans. If wearing a kimono means reducing your odds of being mugged (tourists are known for carrying a lot of cash) or abducted, then do just that.
  • Try not to “play it by ear.” Have a plan in action for every day—and develop it either the night before or early in the morning.
  • Plan. figure out where you’re going to have breakfast; figure out how much time you need in the morning to do anything related to the day’s events (e.g., get tickets, arrange transportation, bring enough diapers for the toddler).
  • Have your young kids wear those sneakers that light up with each step; this will help you know where they are.
  • Before you departed for the trip, you created something to put on your children’s person that contains vital information about them, in case they got lost, right? There are numerous GPS devices that can help you locate them is something happens.
  • And your kids already know how to swim, right? An infant can learn to swim.
  • And you’ve already taught your kids about stranger danger, right? Don’t wait till you’re on vacation to do this.
  • And speaking of young kids…forbid them from dashing ahead of you, especially in crowded areas, especially in a foreign land. You just never know what could happen (e.g., someone swiping your child; your child accidentally ramming into someone and getting injured or inadvertently knocking over a frail elder). Really, I’ve seen kids bolting ahead of their parents like a freight train, including when the parents are not paying attention.
  • Every morning, review instructions for emergencies. This includes instructing your kids to yell, “This man’s not my dad!” if they’re being abducted, rather than just wildly screaming.
  • Before you left for the trip, you packed/uploaded/took headshots of every family member, right? In case someone goes missing?
  • Every morning, make sure everyone has a headshot of everyone on their person. This way, if your young child approaches a woman (because they were taught to approach only a woman if lost), they can show that woman a photo of you and say, “I need your help. I can’t find my patrents.”
  • You’re outside, eager to sightsee. But not before you get key landmarks squared away with everyone in your party.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

Xfinity Home Security Flawed

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Bad news for users of the Xfinity home security system: It can report locked doors and windows that have been bypassed by an intruder and miss an intruder’s movements, says an article on wired.com.

3HThe intruder circumvents the system by using a radio jammer to block the 2.4 GHz radiofrequency band of the alarm system. The system won’t detect this as an anomaly, “thinking” that the doors and windows are still locked.

It gets worse. Suppose the thief ends the jamming and leaves with his loot. Then a second, unrelated intruder breaks in. He may go undetected and no alarms will go off, no remote alerts to the homeowner, because it may take the system’s sensors up to three hours to return to a functioning mode.

An Xfinity sign that’s on the property is a welcome mat to thieves who know how to circumvent the system. And the homeowner will never know anything happened until they return and see the place was ransacked. A surveillance camera, of course, will show the intrusion—unless the radiofrequency band of the camera was the same as the system and hence also jammed.

Radio jamming equipment can be constructed by anyone with half a brain about electronics.

Why can’t this system detect that anything went awry? And why does it take up to three hours for the sensors to regroup? Sounds like a lot of stuff is wrong with this system.

It’s not truly known if Comcast plans on remedying these flaws. Rapid7 security researchers contacted Comcast but have not received a reply, continues the wired.com article. Comcast has also ignored contact from WIRED and from CERT, a cybersecurity research entity.

Interestingly, once the wired.com article was posted, Comcast spokesperson Charlie Douglas issued a statement inferring that these flaws exist in any home security system. However, it has not been confirmed that these flaws are inherent in wireless home security systems in general.

So will Comcast patch up the flaw? Douglas’s response to WIRED was rather evasive, again stating that it was an “industry issue,” and that he’s not even sure that a “simple patch” is even the solution.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

How Glass Break Sensors work

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Your home should have multiple layers of protection. You’ve certainly heard that before. Motion detection is a critical layer of protection, and this is comprised of the simple act of unauthorized movement sensed as the result of breaking and entry. Glass break is similar in concept. One detects movement the other detects sound. 3B

  • Motion: The sensor detects when someone is moving about inside the house.
  • Entry: The sensor detects when a door or window is opened.
  • Breaking into: The glass break sensor detects when a burglar smashes through a window with a crowbar.

Many people don’t know that the sensor for breaking into exists. This special kind of sensor detects the unique sound (in terms of frequency) of window glass being hit and then shattering. The sensor then sets off the alarm.

So in other words, the sensor doesn’t wait for the glass to shatter. The detection starts when the crowbar or baseball bat makes heavy contact with the glass. This initial detection can be thought of as phase one. And phase two, the actual breaking of the glass, occurs just milliseconds later, setting off the alarm.

In a house full of windows, one sensor per room may be sufficient, covering three or more windows and even glass doors. And fortunately, it’s not necessary to have your kid hit a baseball into a window to test out the sensor.

The device has a “test mode.” You should produce a clapping sound (preferably with your hands). At the bottom of the sensor, a small light will blink, in response to the sound of the clapping, which simulates the sound of a window being struck.

Now if you don’t see the light blinking, the sound wasn’t detected. Make sure the sensitivity setting is on “high” in the device, and also check your windows; are they blocked by heavy curtains or furniture? If your hand clapping is weak, do you have a few wooden boards to smack together?

After you make the necessary adjustments, create the clapping sound again. If the unit is correctly installed, the light should blink.

If your child thinks he could trip the alarm by banging cymbals or dropping a glass on the kitchen floor, tell him don’t even think about it. The break-into sensor system has already taken false alarms into account. So if a glass or china plate crashes to the floor, or the sound of windows breaking is coming from the TV, these noises will not trip the alarm.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

15 Tips to Keep Your Home Safe During the Holiday Season

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Most people don’t like that “fall back” time change every November, but you know who does? Burglars. Burglars love to “fall back” because it gives them more time to practice their criminal activities thanks to the earlier veil of darkness. This is also a convenient time for them as the holiday season is upon us and most people have a lot of newly purchased gifts in our homes. Perfect bait for burglars.

2BIn general, most homeowners will take precautions around Christmas time to prevent fires due to Christmas lights, yet they do not take extra security measures to prevent home robbery. Though fire prevention is certainly important, your home is far more likely to attract the eyes of a burglar than to go up in flames. So, here are 15 ways that you can keep the burglars away:

  1. Keep doors locked at all times. This is true even when you are home, and even when it’s light out.
  2. Keep your windows locked, even those on the second floor. Burglars DO have climbing skills.
  3. Use door reinforcements and top-flight locks.
  4. Keep the curtains and blinds closed. This will ensure that no one can take a peek at your valuables.
  5. Install security films on the windows. These help to prevent the penetration of objects such as a baseball bat or crow bar.
  6. Give your home a “lived-in” look with a home automation technology system. Many of these can be controlled by a model device or scheduled to turn lights on or off at a specific time.
  7. Collect your newspaper and mail as soon as they arrive.
  8. Place a large pair of men’s work boots near the door, and make sure they are scuffed up to make them look worn.
  9. Put a large dog bowl near the entryways of the home, but make sure it looks realistic. Do this by adding a chewed up toy or large leash to the scene.
  10. Make sure there is no shrubbery crowding entry points of the home.
  11. Go to Google news, and type in the phrase “door kicked in” along with your city and state. You will be shocked by the results. To protect yourself, consider a device such as Door Devil, which is a high-level door reinforcement device.
  12. If you have a garage, make sure you are packing and unpacking gifts from the car inside of the garage so no one can see what you purchased.
  13. Don’t advertise your Christmas gift purchases on social media, as many thieves use social media to find potential victims.
  14. Make an investment into a home security system. The best systems provide a clear view of what is happening in the home on your mobile device when you are not there.
  15. If you have a car parked out in the drive, place a pair of men’s gloves on the dash. Most burglars will think twice if they believe there is a large man living in the home.

Robert Siciliano is a home and personal security expert to DoorDevil.com discussing Anti-Kick door reinforcement on YouTube. Disclosures.

Think Your Door can’t get Kicked in, Think Again

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Part of my role as security guy is to keep tabs on the crime climate around the globe. Recently I kept seeing article after article about burglaries with one common theme: “door kicked in”. Don’t believe me? See below. But before you do, probably all of these could have been prevented with Door Reinforcement Technology.

2B9/17/15 Alabama; Front door kicked in at Cahaba Road residence:
The call came in around 2:47 a.m., and officers found an unknown suspect kicked in the front door of a residence to gain entry.

9/21/15 Illinois; Bloomington Police investigating home invasion:
According to Sarah Mayer with BPD, officers were called Saturday to a home that had the door kicked in. Officers say that the resident of the home told them a young black male entered her bedroom and pointed a handgun at her, telling her to lay face down.

9/22/15 Michigan; Couple uses ‘special skills’ to help solve their own burglary:
Sergio and Maura Rodriguez returned to their Southside home on July 17 to find their front door kicked in. Burglars had stolen the couple’s television and Maura’s purse containing her Lone Star and debit cards.

9/23/15 Alabama; Law enforcement blotter:
Caller checking on location for owner, door kicked in, Ashby 2 men with 31 previous arrests nabbed in Hoover break-in 9/21/15 The break-in happened about 3:15 p.m. Thursday in the 5000 block of Tree Crossings Parkway at Ridge Crossings Apartments, said Capt. Gregg Rector. The resident arrived home to find his door kicked in. When he went inside, he interrupted two burglars.

9/24/15 Alaska; Man admits to trying to steal Toyo stove, charged with first-degree burglary:
The homeowner called troopers about 11 a.m. and said he arrived home to find his door kicked in and a man trying to steal his Toyo.

9/24/15  South Carolina; Police Blotter for Sept. 24: A 58-year-old Aiken woman reported Monday that it looked as if a nearby vacant house on Springfield Church Road was burglarized. Deputies found the back door kicked in and several appliances missing from inside.

9/25/15 Georgia; Police Blotter Residential Burglary:
800 block of Loridans Drive—A front door was kicked in and a patio door was tampered with. An Apple MacBook Pro, a black Kindle Fire, Skull Candy headphones, a Wells Fargo checkbook, a PlayStation 4 with controllers, a Burberry watch, a JOS A Bank watch, a white laundry basket, an Xbox with controllers and four games, four watches, an Amazon Fire HD7 and 500 Pesos were taken.

And

100 block of 26th Street—The top of a condo’s door lock was punctured and the door was kicked in. A MacBook Pro laptop, an Apple iPad, jewelry, iPhone 3GS, Apple iPad, Social Security card and personal papers were taken.

And

900 block of Cardova Drive—A homeowner received a text about his alarm sounding but refused police because he didn’t want to be fined. A neighbor discovered the front door kicked in and a TV from the living room was in the driveway. No other items were taken.

And

1800 block of Wellbourne Drive—A 60-inch Sony TV a WII controller, a diamond ring, an Apple MacBook Air, an Apple Thunder Bolt display, a MacBook Pro, two Apple keyboards and wireless mice, a Canon camera, a Sony video camera and a external hard drive were taken when a house’s front door was kicked in.

Now don’t think for one second, “Well I don’t live in Alabama or wherever, so I’m OK”. Wrongo bongo. Go to GoogleNews , type your Town and or state and “Door kicked In” and you will be amazed at how many results come up. Doors, without reinforcement technology are useless. Install high-grade door reinforcement technology. Door Devil, is the door jamb reinforcement I use.

Robert Siciliano is a home and personal security expert to DoorDevil.com discussing Anti-Kick door reinforcement on YouTube. Disclosures.

12 Ways to secure your Home

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The FBI says that in the U.S., one out of every 36 homes will be raided by thieves in any given year. Often, the burglars were able to get in due to the residents’ carelessness.

3BUnlike the movies, in which burglars are hiding in the shrubs at night waiting for the homeowner to return home, then jump out and press guns to their ribcages, ordering them inside, real life burglars often literally stroll right through an unlocked door and help themselves to all the goodies. There are many ways the home occupant can make it easy for burglars to get in unnoticed.

  • Unlocked doors and windows.
  • A sloppy yard. This makes a thief think nobody’s hardly ever home, and he’ll likely target the house for a break-in.
  • Shrubs and bushes that obscure entryways. Burglars love it when they can conceal themselves in the dark with the help of plant growth around windows and doors.
  • Posting travel plans on social media. Yes, burglars scout social media to see who’ll be away from the house.
  • Indiscriminately answering the doorbell. Burglars may pose as utility workers and talk their way inside. Or, they may push past the occupant and ransack the place while an accomplice restrains the occupant.
  • A chronically dark house. Don’t be a utility bill penny pincher. Enough lights should be on at night, including when you’re home, to make a burglar think there’s fully-awake people inside. Automatic timers that turn lights on and off will make the house look occupied, and will make it appear people are up in the middle of the night, when many break-ins occur.
  • Newspapers accumulating in the drive or a package sitting on the front stoop, suggesting nobody’s been home for a while.

Beef up Your Home’s Security

  • Get a security system for the house that has it all: motion detectors, surveillance cameras, smartphone connections. Even if money is tight, you can still fool many a burglar with a fake camera installed above the front door, and security company signs around the house—even though you don’t have a system. But really, these days, there are systems for all budgets.
  • Dog owners should hire a dog sitter rather than kennel their pet; a dog’s barking usually scares off a would-be intruder.
  • Put your paper and mail deliveries on a vacation hold.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

Summer of Home Invasions

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Even three men in a house aren’t immune to a home invasion, as was the case in Bedford, Massachusetts recently, says a report at boston.cbslocal.com.

2BThree men broke into the apartment’s second floor at 2 a.m. and attacked the three male occupants. Three men, especially when one has a gun, really don’t care what gender the occupants are. In fact, one of the residents was shot in the leg, and the three intruders are on the loose.

However, police report that at least one of the intruders knew the victims, who might have been targeted for a bad drug deal or just for a robbery. This is the first shooting in Bedford in at least 10 years.

Another home invasion recently took place in Minneapolis, says www.kare11.com. This one had a far more tragic outcome than the one above. Susan Spiller, an artist and community activist, was killed by her home intruder, who apparently forced his way in. The thug, however, spared the life of Spiller’s greyhound.

Police may never know how he got in or if he even knew the victim. It’s not known if she answered the door and that’s when he forced his way in, or if in some other way forced open a door or window.

In Spencer Township of Michigan, a man invaded a home and murdered a man, says www.freep.com. Recently, the killer, Isaac Fezzey, 22, was convicted of his crime and will get life locked up. Fezzey and several other masked men forced their entry upon the home, seeking thousands of dollars related to a drug deal that they thought was inside.

They forced Brent Luttrell, 34, into a vehicle, then shot and stabbed him, then dumped his body onto a road. One of the invaders was sentenced last month, and two are facing trial in the near future.

Though two of these invasions may have been related to drugs, that in no way takes away from the brutality of home invasions. A drug dealer or buyer who’s owed money for a drug deal, who shoots and stabs someone involved with the deal and then dumps the body along a road, is certainly quite capable of forcing himself into your grandmother’s home, tying her up, robbing her and then shooting.

Lock up. Get a home security system.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

Man Breaks into Home, hides under Bed for Days

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Wow, it’s true: The monster under the bed really does exist!

5HRecently in New Jersey a man broke into a home and hid under a bed in a spare room for possibly five days before being arrested. Margaret Adamcewicz reportedly stated that the man, Jason Hubbard, had dated her daughter five years ago, and it didn’t end well, and he decided to live under her bed.

Hubbard slithered his way into the home when one of its residents left a door open to take out the garbage. He slipped his way upstairs to the spare bedroom and made camp under the bed, even charging several cell phones using an outlet under the bed.

He was discovered when Adamcewicz’ husband heard a noise in the room, peeked under the bed and saw the freeloader. An adult son restrained him until the police arrived.

Not only was Hubbard charged with burglary, but he was also charged with stealing electricity.

How can you prevent a person from sneaking into your house and “living” under a bed? The same way you can help prevent someone from breaking in and stealing your valuables or abducting your child:

  • Keep doors locked at all times. If you can’t keep an eye on the door that you go through to get outside to take out the garbage or collect the mail, then lock it, even though you’ll be back in less than a minute.
  • Use “door reinforcement technology” (google it) for your door or some other beefed-up device to reinforce door security and prevent kick-throughs.
  • Never leave a note on your door that indicates you’re not home.
  • Keep windows locked, at least overnight and when you’re not home, and use a bar or special device that’s placed in the track to prevent horizontal-sliding windows from being slid open by intruders.
  • Keep your shades and curtains lowered and closed as much as possible so nobody can peer inside.
  • Before leaving the house for even short errands, turn the phone’s ringer to mute so prowlers don’t hear an unanswered phone.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.