My neighbor stopped me in backyard garden this past week and asked me if I had been walking around in the backyard without a flashlight about 2 a.m. the previous night.  I answered that I hadn’t, and if I was in the back yard that late it would be with friends and family for a bon fire or some kind of activity like that.

He scratched his head and explained he was taking some trash out to his cans and noticed someone walking around in my yard.  With the full moon, he could see the silhouette of what he thought was a man with some kind of a hat on.  He yelled over to the mysterious character demanding they explain themselves.  Instead of answering, the person quickly ran past the side of the house and closed my fence on the way out.  I thanked him for being so thoughtful and alert and I began asking my family members (who live near my home) if they had been lurking.  Of course everyone reported to have been sleeping that night.

I feel confident knowing my security system is on and active while we are asleep but getting this news from my neighbor got me thinking that I need to take some added measures to support the security my Home Security System provides.

Here is what I came up with:

1. Update All of The Locks in Your Home

   • Many older homes allow the doors and window lock to age with them.  Many doors and windows lose their solid functionality with time and may require you to change the locks.
   • Good and sturdy door locks are relatively inexpensive and are easy to install.
   • It’s okay to use sticks or long objects in sliding doors and windows.  This makes it nearly impossible for someone to lift it off the track or force entry

2. Improve Your Property Visibility

   • Trim any shrubs, bushes, or trees that may be impeding the view from your home to the rest of your property.  Don’t give any “shady” characters a place to hide if they are casing your home.  If it looks difficult to take a peek they most likely won’t.

3. Never Hide Keys

   • If someone is watching your home, eventually they will notice if you have keys hidden around your property.  Hiding keys atop doorframes, under mats, and in the potted plant are NOT new concepts.  These are the hotspots for hidden keys any are most likely to be the first places to be checked.

4. Well Lit Perimeter

   

   • This is perfect for my situation.  You improve the security of your home by lighting up the perimeter and making it difficult for people to be sneaking around your property at night.  If you are concerned about the light bill, be sure to check out your local hardware store and mount motion detecting light sensors.  If someone is moving around the detector will pick it up and provide a path of en”light”enment to the intruder. LOL

5. Own a Home Security System

   • Whereas a home security system won’t guarantee someone won’t break into your home, it greatly reduces the chance your home will be broken into, and greatly enhances the possibility the intruder may be apprehended.

Owning a Monitored Home Security System gives you the peace of mind knowing someone good is watching your home even if someone with bad intentions is watching your home also.

This week certainly got me thinking, and I’m definitely going to be following my own advice in supporting my homes security system.  Remember criminals are usually looking for the quick and easy rewards.  Taking all of these steps makes it difficult to become a target.

Don’t miss a post.  Sign up to receive these articles in your e-mail or RSS reader today!

Do you have some easy tips to add security to your home? Please feel free to comment below.

Almost all home security scams happen when people are not using safety measures. While most burglaries happen while you are away from the home, that does not stop some burglars from taking advantage of you while you are home. Below are some examples of home security scams that people have fallen victim to in the past five years.

The Shreveport Times reported a home invasion story in March 2006. “Charlie Henry said some of the same intruders who invaded his home had stopped by a week ago to question him about where another person lived. Yesterday a woman came to the door alone asking for water. As soon as he let her in, the three men stormed into his house.” This scam involves using a seemingly innocent woman, which many people do not suspect to cause any harm to them.

In the New York Times, a sad story was shared in November 2007. A man, who was recently released for sexual assault from prison, saw a newspaper article with a picture of an 11 year old boy and made him his next target. “He gained the confidence of the family by claiming he was with the newspaper and was writing an article about the boy.” Simply claiming to be a newspaper reporter allowed him entrance in to the home. The boy was tragically assaulted and murdered by the man.

home security

A show aired on Oprah demonstrated the lack of home security sense a lot of people have, and how easily people can fall for home security scams. They set up a male staff member with a hidden camera posing as a police detective. He knocked doors of 100 different homes, showing them a fake police badge that had been typed on a type writer on normal white paper. Shockingly every single door invited him to come inside.

Some people choose to distract you to gain entrance into your home. The Norwich Evening News reported a story of a set of burglaries that took place when the homeowner got a panicked phone call telling them there was an emergency, such as an explosion down the street. While the homeowner went outside to investigate the explosion the burglar gained entrance inside their unlocked door.

A Louisville news station WAVE3-TV, reported a story about a man who was taken advantage of by burglars who knew his name. “They knocked on my door and called out my name. I wasn’t thinking anything about home security. I just unlocked the door. And that’s when they stuck a shotgun in my face.”

A gang of burglars in the United Kingdom used a crying child to break into homes. The Teeside Evening Gazette reported “Detectives are hunting a gang using a tearful boy and the tale of a lost hamster to breach the home security of pensioners. The cruel con involves the youngster knocking on victims’ doors then tearfully claiming his pet has wandered into their garden. While the householder helps the boy search for the phantom pet, the boy’s adult accomplice enters the property and rifles the house.”

These stories range from simple burglaries to assault and even murder. We do not share these stories to scare you, but rather to show you the importance of home safety. All of these scams could easily have been avoided had security measures been taken. Look for our next blog article where we will share tips on how to prevent these scams from happening to you.