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14 home security tips before you pack up for the Holidays

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The holidays are just about here, and so is your not-so-friendly neighborhood burglar. Burglars know that during the holidays, there are just more goodies to steal, and not only that, but there’s a lot of traveling away from home. During this time of year, homeowners need to be extra vigilant about protecting their property, and that includes making potential intruders think you’re home rather than away for the holidays.

5HThere are many ways to spruce up the security outside and inside your house:

  1. Most burglars get in through the front door, so equip this with a heavy duty deadbolt/lock system. Look for one that even has a built-in alarm and can be remotely controlled and activated. Nexia™ Home Intelligence is the brains behind remote locking, unlocking and more. This home automation system allows you to control locks, thermostats, lights, cameras and even the new Linear Z-Wave Garage Door Controller, from wherever you and the internet happen to be. Lock or unlock your door from anywhere with your mobile device and receive text or email alerts when an alarm triggers or when specific codes provided to your kids or visitors are entered at the lock.
  2. Intruders occasionally do get through windows, especially if they realize you’re not home and a window is open. A veteran burglar can slip through a window and steal some jewelry faster than you can walk your dog down the street and back.
  3. Keep your lawn manicured. Overgrown grass tells a thief you haven’t been in town for a while. And if you do leave town, arrange for someone to mow your lawn and rake leaves. If snow is expected, arrange to have someone shovel it. These tasks will make it appear you’re not on vacation.
  4. A light that never turns off is a sign you’re not home. Manage your lighting by scheduling it based on time such as sunrise or sunset or activate them remotely with Nexia Home Intelligence.
  5. Have the post office and newspaper delivery do a vacation hold for your mail and paper, respectively.
  6. How many times have you seen in some TV show a family loading up the top of their station wagon, in broad daylight smack in the middle of the driveway, for a vacation? Leave this to TV, and in real life, pack your vehicle inside the garage with the door closed or in the cover of dark, so that casing burglars don’t connect the dots.
  7. Arrange to have someone leave their car in your driveway while you’re gone.
  8. Lock up all your valuables. And even when you’re home, make sure that any piles of holiday presents are not visible from the outside.
  9. It’s a no-brainer, but people actually disregard this golden rule: Lock all possible entries to your house.
  10. Don’t blab on social media about your vacation until after you’ve returned.
  11. Do not reset your voicemail to say something like, “Hi! We’re enjoying the sun and surf in Tahiti for a few weeks, but we’ll be back soon!” Clean out your voicemail mailbox so that it doesn’t say “full.”
  12. If you don’t have one now, invest in a monitored home security system so you can fully relax on that white sandy beach.
  13. Install security cameras that can be remotely viewed on your mobile, tablet or PC through a self-monitored system like Nexia Home Intelligence.
  14. Put “Beware of Dog” signs in a conspicuous place even if you don’t have a dog.

Travel is supposed to be fun and stress free. And it’s always better when you know your home is safe and sound while you are away. Take the time to implement these tips and have a happy holiday season!

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to Nexia Home Intelligence discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

9 Ways to sell your House safely

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Selling your house can spell a lot of trouble whether you do it yourself or hire a real estate agent. Agents have little training on safety and security and home owners even less so. Here are safety tips.3B

  1. Prior to a showing, get information on the potential buyer. Google their names to see what comes up. They can also complete a buyer’s questionnaire, seek one online, and you can chat with them on the phone.
  2. Find out if the buyer is bringing along young children. Kids get into everything and are hazard to themselves. See if arrangements can be made otherwise. If this is not possible, try to arrange to have a friend or family member keep an eye on the kids during the showing.
  3. Make sure the path to your front door is clear of any debris, yard equipment, toys, etc., that can be a tripping hazard. Also make sure that no rugs inside are bunched up, and that the floors and all the steps are clear of any objects that the buyer can trip over. Warn the buyer of any sharp edges, like that from cocktail tables, that they might walk into. Make sure there’s no moisture or slick areas on the floors.
  4. If you have a dog, keep it locked in a crate during the showing. Don’t wait for the buyer to come over to do this; put the dog in the crate ahead of time, since the buyer might arrive early.
  5. Show your property only during the daylight.
  6. Use the buddy system, bring a friend or relative over to assist. Arrange to have someone present in the home during the showing, and visible to the buyer, perhaps a friend in the living room reading.
  7. Make sure that the door is closed and locked once the buyer enters your home. But at the same time, be closest to the exit in case something goes wrong.
  8. If another family member is in the home during the showing, and especially if you don’t know where in the house they are at any given moment, knock on any closed doors before entering as you don’t want to startle the other resident by just opening up the door.
  9. Put away in a safe or completely remove all valuables. If you see someone steal something, do not confront them. Leave quickly (yes, leave your own house with someone still in it) and call the police.

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

Use Door Reinforcement to beef up your Home Security

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Though there’s no such thing as a 100 percent burglar-proof home, there’s also no such thing as a burglar who has the skills of Mission Impossible’s Ethan Hunt, Spiderman or the Hulk, either. With enough security measures, you can almost make your home burglar-proof.

When homeowners think of security, often only a limited range of devices comes into mind. For example, how many people even know that shatter proof glass exists? How many people would think to install fake (but real looking) surveillance cameras at all entry points where anyone can easily see them?

Have you ever even wondered just how much you can do with your front door to deter a break-in? First off, doors can be kicked in (three-quarter inch pine), even if they have a good lock (one-half inch screws and a stock strike plate). So when you see Detective Olivia Benson on “Law & Order: SVU” kicking down doors, that’s not unrealistic.

Door Reinforcement Devices

  • Door knob/deadbolt wrap. Installed on the door, these strengthen the area around the locks.
  • Door brace. These can be vertical or floor mounted, making it harder to kick down a door.
  • Door bar jammer. This bar device snuggly fits under a doorknob and is angled 45 degrees to the floor.
  • Strike plate. The thicker version is about three or four inches long.
  • Door frame reinforcement. Typically made of steel, this device can be up to four feet long and is installed on the door jamb center, over the existing strike plates. Braces come in different styles.

Kicking down a door—a common scene in cops-and-robbers TV shows and movies, is actually the No. 1 way criminals get into locked houses. They know where to kick; a door has a weak area and the frame can easily be kicked down.

A standard door security consists of two to four little screws that go through one or two small strike plates, that are attached to a thin door frame that consists of 1/2” to 3/4” pine with a ½” thick molding. A 6 year old can karate chop ½” pine. No wonder it’s so easy to blow apart the frame with a foot.

That’s where The Door Devil Anti Kick Door Jamb Security Kit comes in. It’s a one-sixteenth inch heavy steel, four feet long bar, installed on the door jamb center—over the existing strike plates. It makes all that thin wood obsolete because it screws directly into the doors frame.

The Kit includes:

  • 48 inch steel door jamb reinforcement to replace the three-inch brass strike plate
  • Four feet of the door frame absorbs force.
  • The 3.5 inch screws are heavy and three and a half inches, driven into 2×4 studs behind the frame.
  • The three inch screws reinforce the hinges.

Once this system is installed, you’re done. The only additional work is when you lock and unlock the door.

Door reinforcement is just one layer of security that should be complemented with other forms of security like surveillance cameras, motion detection lights and a home security system.

Most burglars aren’t MMA fighters. If the first few kicks fail to rattle a door, they will give up and move on to the next target.

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

Smart Home Security Tips

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It’s well-worth your time and money to make a burglar’s job very difficult. Employ the following home security tips:

5HLock up! How many times have you read about a home intruder who “entered through an unlocked window”? Keep your windows and doors locked as much as possible.

Deadbolts. A deadbolt makes an incredible difference. Even a “determined” thief wants a quick, easy job. A decent deadbolt is about $25; you’ll get what you pay for. Lock it when you’re at home, too.

Home security. You can even do this yourself. A cheap system will sound an alarm that no burglar will want to stick around for. You can install a basic system including a keypad and door sensors for $25 online. Add on features like wireless keyfobs, motion detectors, etc. However, if the money is there, invest in a monitored system. The monthly fee is cheaper than you think.

Use curtains/blinds. A potential burglar won’t be interested in your home if he can’t see in. When you’re gone during the day, close the curtains/blinds unless your plants need the light to survive. If you’re home and want to admire the view, at least close the curtains on windows through which you’re not admiring any view. Never leave them open once dusk hits.

Shrubbery. If you absolutely must have shrubs near entry points to your home, then make sure they’re thorny so that a burglar doesn’t hide in them. If what’s already there isn’t thorny, have it trimmed down so that a burglar can’t hide there.

Sliding door security. Place a wooden rod in the door track frame.

Be safe. With a safe, that is. A fireproof safe is less than $40. Until you get a safe, put your jewelry in a place a burglar would never look: like a covered Styrofoam cup next to the mouthwash bottle.

Don’t forget the garage. Keep the garage door closed at all times, even if you have an in-and-out lifestyle. You can buy a garage door timer for under $40 that automatically shuts the door after a predetermined time period. But if you want to keep it open, the device has a manual override.

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

Security is about Layers and Attitude

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Installing a home security system and keeping doors and windows locked is not the end of your crime prevention regimen; it’s only the beginning. And the beginning is YOU.

2HYou are your greatest weapon against crime, wherever you are located at any given moment. Unfortunately, that “mama bear” or “papa bear” mentality has been driven out of many people by modern-day living and an influx of etiquette books and manners training.

Of course, modern-day living allows us to behave civilly so that we don’t punch out the next person who disagrees with our political views. By the same token, we’ve been conditioned to be softies when it comes to truly threatening situations. Or, we’ve become desensitized to possible threats.

An example of this civilized conditioning is mothers teaching their children, “Respect authority.” But what should a child do when an authorative adult tells a child his mother is sick so he must get on the van to go see her? It’s this conflict with civility and survival that predators prey upon.

We need to take more responsibility towards uncivilized people, predators are all around us. We need to aim for maximal security, while realizing that nobody or no location or setting can ever be 100 percent secure.

Security must be layered.

Security that’s founded in layers will go a long way at slashing your level of risks, and a long way at making a criminal’s intentions all the more difficult to carry out. Let’s get as close to that 100 percent as possible with some careful planning.

A classic example of layered security is that of a large bank:

  • Large windows, which make would-be robbers realize they’ll be more easily seen by people walking by.
  • Doors with locks
  • An alarm system which includes motion detectors and glass-break alerts
  • Bullet proof glass
  • Video surveillance
  • Armed guards
  • GPS and dye packs to locate stolen cash
  • A safe

So how can you parallel this kind of layered security for your house? You can start with a home security system that comes with all the bells and whistles, such as motion detection, motion sensitive outdoor lights, cameras, door/window sensors, remote access via smartphone or PC, a blaring siren and home automation components like the Lynx Touch 5100 by Honeywell. And that’s just one component of additional layers of home security.

Make sure windows have special coverings on the glass to make it impenetrable, and that window wells are covered with locked lids that can’t be lifted off.

Do your homework on how to secure your main door as solidly as possible with the best lock systems and door reinforcement technologies.

Now, what about your body? Take up martial arts. If possible, install a striking bag in your home and work out on it. Enroll your kids in martial arts, particularly a school where kids are taught to fight from a ground position. Make no excuses; do what you can to come up with the money and get going. A trained 120-pound woman can disable an untrained, much bigger and stronger man.

Train with weights to make your body stronger and tougher. A strong body not only is more likely to win a fight, but is also more likely to walk away from a crisis situation with minimal injury.

Plus, the stronger your body is, the more likely you’ll be able to assist someone else in an emergency situation. Nothing creates a sense of security like knowing you can pick up and carry heavy objects. And once you know how to save your own life or the life of another, every other decision in life is relatively simple. Understanding self defense and home security gives a person an enormous amount of perspective.

Can Home Invasion of Elderly Cause Heart Attack?

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I’m a home security expert and have given many speeches on how to protect your home from an invasion, but one of the topics that doesn’t seem to get much attention is the possibility of a heart attack being triggered in an elderly homeowner by the stress of an intrusion.

2BHere are two alarming cases of heart attack in the elderly apparently caused by the stress of a home invasion.

Mildred Pollock, age 89, suffered fatal heart failure a week after two men robbed her inside her house, as reported by WALB News 10 of Mitchell County, GA.

Here’s how it all went down: Two men posed as salesmen and showed up at the elderly victim’s door at about 4:30 pm. The men ended up inside her house. (The report doesn’t say if she invited them in; if they invited themselves in and she accepted; or if they forced their way in.)

But for sure, they removed the elderly woman’s alert pendant and held her to a chair, taking her phones away. The men wanted money, found none, and then left.

Pollock called for help with a backup alert button, was taken to the hospital, and succumbed to heart failure a week later. The home invaders face felony murder charges, even though an autopsy showed clogged arteries in her heart.

However, leehighvalleylive.com reports the case of another elderly victim, age 76, who suffered a mild heart attack the night of a home invasion, after which her health rapidly declined and she died several weeks later.

The forensic examiner attributes the heart attack to the stress of the home invasion/robbery, even though the victim had a pre-existing heart condition.

Tips for Preventing a Home Invasion

  • Always speak to strangers through a locked door, never a screen door, let alone open door.
  • Forbid children to respond to knocks and doorbells.
  • Keep a burglar alarm on at all times, but you must remember to deactivate it every time you open a door or window.
  • Install a video surveillance system: a marvelous deterrent to home invasion.

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

10 Holiday home security checklist tips

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You can have peace of mind while away from home during the holidays by implementing the following home security tips.

  1. 1SHome vacation checks. Arrange with your local police department to periodically cruise by your house when you’re out of town.
  2. Alert your neighborhood watch group. Inform the group of your vacation plans so they can be extra alert to suspicious activity about your house. If there’s no formal watch group, ask a friend or neighbor to check up on your residence. This includes having them remove any packages on your doorstep or accumulated newspapers.
  3. Police inspection. Schedule a police officer to assess your residence for security ideas.
  4. Update the burglar alarm. Inform the alarm company you’ll be out of town; provide them a phone number where you can be contacted. Give the alarm company the phone number of anyone checking up on your residence. If the alarm is tripped, the company will be speaking to you or your friend, rather than the burglar in the house when he picks up the phone.
  5. Inspect motion detectors. Make sure that motion detectors cannot be set off by billowing curtains or pets.
  6. Secure all portals. Make sure all the locks work. Repair any cracks in doors or windows. Set the pin lock on your garage if it opens by remote. Sliding doors should have bars that prevent giggling them open.
  7. Conceal valuables. Keep valuable items out of sight from peepers outside the house. Don’t keep spare keys in places obvious to burglars such as under a flower pot or fake rock. Remove valuable items from sight in your car, if parked in the driveway, and put a lock on the steering wheel.
  8. Stop mail and newspaper delivery. Arrange with the post office and newspaper service to have your mail and newspaper on vacation hold.
  9. A lived-in look. Mow your lawn just before you leave for a long trip so that it looks recently cared for. Use automatic light timers for holiday lights if your house is decorated with these to fool burglars that you’re home.
  10. Discard any signs you have expensive items in the house. Examples might be empty computer containers or flat screen TV boxes lying around outside. Store bikes, toys, etc., in the garage.

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

11 Easy and Simple Home Security Tips

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Occasionally it’s good to be reminded of the fundamentals of home security. Print this out and stick it on your bulletin board at work or on your refrigerator as a reminder to everyone in your family.

  1. Daytime burglaries: Many burglaries happens during daylight hours; very few occur at night—which means even when you step out to go to the store at noon, set your home security system to alarm.
  2. Traveling: Have a neighbor keep an eye on your house and get your mail and newspapers and grab your barrels on trash day. During the winter, have someone clear the snow around your house to make it look like someone’s home.
  3. Trick the burglars: Do things like leaving a radio or TV on, and put the lights on timers. The idea is to always make your house looked lived in.
  4. Neighborhood watch: Get to know your neighbors, and note who is coming and going and what their vehicles look like.
  5. Call 911: If something seems wrong, it is wrong. Trust your gut. Don’t wait to call 911 if something does not seem right. React, respond, see something, say something.
  6. Exterior: Bushes and shrubs should be trimmed back from doors and windows.
  7. Home security systems and cameras: Wired or wireless, use a professional or do it yourself. Spend a little or spend a lot. Get it monitored or not. (I prefer monitored.) With some cameras, you can hear audio via video. Just get alarmed.
  8. Lighting: Use bright lighting around your home, including motion lights or lights on timers. I like timers better.
  9. Engraving: Engraving systems allow you to imprint your driver’s license number or address on valuable items. This helps police return recovered items when bad guys are busted.

10. Doors: Use strong, high-quality deadbolt locks. Consider door reinforcement technologies on the jambs and hinges and around the locks. Use solid-core doors. Beef up sliding doors, as older versions can be opened by an experienced burglar.

11. Windows: Bars on windows are an option, but a better option is locking them and using a shatter-resistant window film that helps prevent windows from being smashed in.

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

6 More Tips for Apartment Security

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Did you know that 1 of every 5 homes will experience a break-in or violent home invasion? And that 80 percent of break-ins occur forcibly through a locked door—and, even scarier, that a burglary occurs every 15 seconds in the United States? And if you live in an apartment, the National Crime Prevention Council says you will have an 85 percent greater chance of being burglarized than a single-family dwelling.

When looking into apartment living, consider my first six tips on apartment security, as well as the following:

  1. Gated access: Keypad, remote controlled and including an emergency firebox.
  2. Key building access: Look for a schedule that involves locking exterior doors and making sure the property is secured.
  3. Neighborhood watch-type programs: If a stranger is in the area or paying unwanted attention to us or the property, we call one another to decide what we may do in response. There’s always strength in numbers.
  4. Background checks: Does the landlord do anything in regard to background checks?
  5. Neighborhood crime: What is the immediate neighborhood like? Are there drug houses, etc., nearby? Contact local law enforcement and ask for a record of recent crimes committed. Get some statistics. Some law enforcement agencies will be more or less cooperative. You want to know about the prevalence of violent crimes, sex offenders and theft. One of the most effective ways to get the pulse of the community is by buying the local newspaper. Reading the police blotter over a one-month period is telling.
  6. Interview the landlord: While the landlord may interview you, you should interview the landlord. Find out what his/her processes are for security. What is the annual investment? What is the landlord’s philosophy regarding apartment security? Does the landlord even have one? What is the existing security at the property? Ask about lighting, cameras, locks on doors and windows, and whether the keys have been changed since the last tenant left.

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

10 Tips to Post Holiday Home Security

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For Christmas, one of my neighbors got a 60 inch LCD screen TV. I saw the same TV at Costco for $2000.00. Another neighbor got a Mac Book Pro. I saw this online for $2000.00. Another neighbor got a Nikon Digital SLR camera, and I saw this at Amazon for almost $900.00. These are neighbors I’ve never spoken to, ever. I know this because the boxes were prominently displayed in their trash like trophies one would put on a mantel in their living room.

Trash day is coming and burglars may case your neighborhood looking for boxes where electronics such as computers, flat panel TVs, game consoles and other re-saleable items are. Then, while you are at work, they just break into your home and take it.

It’s pretty obvious whose home and who is not when the lights are off or there is no car in the driveway. All a burglar has to do is ring a door bell to see of you are actually home. If no one answers they jiggle the door knob to see if it’s locked or not.  If it’s locked they will head to the back door and jiggle that.

Many times they will walk right in because people are often irresponsible and leave the doors unlocked because they believe “it can’t happen to me”. If the doors are locked they may try a few street level or basement windows. Brazen burglars will not waste any time and may break glass or use a crowbar and forcibly enter the residence.

For post holiday security, use these home security suggestions:

  1. Lock your doors and windows
  2. Install a monitored alarm system. Consider ADT Pulse.
  3. Give your home that lived in look
  4. Leave the TV on LOUD while you are gone
  5. Install timers on your lights both indoor and outdoor
  6. Close the shades to prevent peeping inside
  7. Use defensive signage
  8. Store item boxes for at least 90 days because if you have a defective product you will need the box for a return
  9. After 90 days tear up the box so it’s undistinguishable then recycle or put it in a black trash bag
  10. Update your home inventory. This is a good time to catalog/document/video tape what you own. Contact your insurer to discuss what they need to properly insure your new gifts.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to Home Security Source discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston.