03/28/2019
How your television got stolen
March 28, 2019 / Kenneth Akelis
You have the best alarm. You set it when you are away and when you are asleep. You test it regularly and make sure it is working. So how did they steal my television, it must have been an inside job. Nope, it was most likely cause by you. How did this happen?
It today’s society people feel the need to promote themselves on social media and that is how they get taken.
Let’s look at a fictitious example:
The Smith family follows all the rules, setting the alarm, locking the doors and stopping the mail when they go on vacation. They have two children that love their Facebook and Instagram accounts and the more followers they have the better. And the Smiths are going on vacation.
The kids start posting about the big trip to Disney they are going on and of course they know all of the 1,200 followers they have want to know about it. Mom chimes in that is looking forward to two weeks of fun in the sun. This is where the crooks start.
Scrolling through the old posts of the kids and mom the thief see that the Smiths have a big screen in the family room over the fireplace and another in the kitchen nook. They see that the Smiths have a dog and that they like Happy Pup pet boarding and doggie daycare, the Smiths will most likely be boarding their dog while away on the trip.
Looking at more of the pictures, a photo from last years holiday party shows a group of people in the kitchen. What’s that in the back of the shot, why its the alarm keypad. Knowing the different keypads the thief now know that they have an older Honeywell alarm system that does not support cellular reporting and reports in over the phone line. And the touch football video of the kids in the front yard, Dad posted, has given the thief the address of the house and the name of the alarm company the Smiths use.
Now the thief just waits for the Smiths to start posting the daily pictures of all the fun they are having.
The thief goes to the house, cuts the phone line, lifts the sliding door in the family room off its track and then go to the basement pulls out the alarm transformer and battery connection and is free to steal what he wants.
How do you minimize your chances of being a target of thieves?
Know who you are friends with on social media. If your career requires you to have a social media presence then create separate accounts for your public life and private life and never post your current activity to a social media account;
If you must posting a trip or event to social media, post after you return not before or during your trip;
Be aware of who your children are communicating with via social media;
Make friends with your neighbors and make them aware that you will be out of town. A neighbor spotting unexpected car in your driveway or lights on when they should not be can be helpful in alerting authorities to an intruder;
Make sure that your alarm system uses an alternate form of communication that can not be disrupted by someone cutting the wires running to your home;
Make sure your alarm panel is secure and that the alarm transformer is install and secured correctly to the plug. While this will not stop the thief it will increase the time and effort required to disable the alarm;
Install a video doorbell. While not a great deterrent, having someone answer the bell should a thief ring it may have them seek a different target.
As always contact Waves for your low voltage and security needs at [email protected] or (248)652-2809
