burglary

6 Affordable Ways to Deter Burglars

Aaron Crowe — Thu, 22 Oct 2015 21:16:53 +0000

Burglaries are decreasing in the United States, which is good news for homeowners, though the victims who experienced the 1.9 million burglaries in 2013 might not see the glass as half full.

The average dollar loss per offense was $2,322 that same year. That number, along with the fact that protecting your home with a home security system can lower home insurance premiums, may be enough to convince you to do something to deter intruders.

Installing a home security system, however, can cost a few hundred dollars (along with $15 to $100 for monthly monitoring). So here are six cheaper alternatives.

1. Set Up a Home Camera Yourself

For about $150, you can buy a camera that you can set up yourself to record your front porch, for example, and save on your computer. The upfront cost may equal what you'd pay for a security system, but you avoid the monthly monitoring costs.

Another option is to set up a fake video camera or webcam as a deterrent to potential criminals. Seeing a few "security cameras" over the garage may be enough to cause them to move on. And if you want the cameras to work, there are all kinds of apps to turn a webcam into a security camera.

2. Put a Home Security Sign Up

Just as with a non-working camera, you can put up a security company's sign in your yard stating that your home is being protected, but don't pay for the service.

A generic alarm system sign sells online for less than $25, although experienced criminals may well recognize the knock-offs. (Less than scrupulous vendors sell signs from well-known security services on eBay and elsewhere, but this trick seems unfair to the security firms who provide actual services.) Again, the point is to make burglars think twice before trying to break into your home.

3. Install Motion Sensors

Motion sensor outdoor lights are as cheap as $50, turning on whenever someone or something moves in front of them. Lighting the outside of a home is an easy deterrent for nighttime break-ins.

4. Leave the Radio On

If you're gone all day, leave a radio on so that anyone walking up to the house will hear it and think someone is inside. Leaving a small desk radio on for six hours costs an estimated 22 cents per month.

5. Run a Fake TV

Burglars are looking for unoccupied homes, and a glowing TV screen is a sign that someone's home.

For as little as $25, a small device called FakeTV simulates the flickering light of real television. Close the curtains and from the outside, it looks like you're home watching TV. The device has a light sensor and timer, and uses the same amount of power as a night light.

6. Lock Your Doors

This is a simple tip, but one that many people may forget about once in awhile. Lock all doors and windows before going to sleep at night, and install deadbolts where you can. A chain lock on a door won't be enough to stop a determined intruder. A security door jam for a door or window can cost only $10 and should also be locked at night.

Those are some of the cheapest ways to deter house intruders. If you really want something that makes noise when a burglar or anyone else comes to your house, consider getting a sometimes expensive but trustworthy burglar alarm: a dog. The barking may drive you crazy, but it can protect your home from burglars when you're away. And the mailman may even think twice before leaving you those pesky bills!

Do you employ any of these or other cheap security tricks?

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This article is from Aaron Crowe of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

DIY Home Defense: 10 Ways to Protect Your Home From Burglars

Kentin Waits — Wed, 30 Oct 2013 10:24:04 +0000

Based on numbers from the FBI's annual crime report, there were an estimated 2.1 million burglaries in the United States in 2012. What's more, nearly 75% of those crimes took place at residential properties. And, while those statistics reflect a slight drop in burglary rates, the numbers are still a wake-up call for every safety-conscious renter and homeowner in the country. (See also: How to Choose the Right Home Safe)

Surprisingly, most burglaries aren’t random. Rather, thieves use an active and careful selection process to target homes with specific vulnerabilities. Since the best defense is a good offense, now is the time to do a security check of your own home and look for weaknesses that might make it attractive in all the wrong ways. And as you do, keep in mind these 10 DIY ways to protect your home from burglary.

1. Beef Up Doors

As a rule, all exterior doors should be solid wood or metal-clad with a wood core. Anything less doesn't offer protection against break-ins. Burglars can easily kick in hollow-core or thinner wood-panel doors, completely compromising your home's security. Refer to the The Family Handyman's step-by-step guide on replacing an exterior door for details on installing a more secure exterior door. (See also: A Cheap Alternative to a Home Alarm System)

2. Deadbolt It

A quality door deserves a quality lock, and that starts with a deadbolt. Deadbolts are more difficult to tamper with and offer an essential first line of defense against intruders gaining access to your home. According to home security tips from The Blog by Allstate, homeowners should install a deadbolt to each exterior door and make sure that the bolt portion of the lock has at least a one inch reach inside the door frame. The DIY Network offers a great guide on how to install a deadbolt lock yourself.

3. Reinforce Glass Near Entry Points

Doorways framed by narrow and tall windows are an attractive design feature in many contemporary homes, but they're not great for home defense. Glass near entryways can be broken and provide easy access to locks and other security devices. Security professionals suggest bulking up these types of windows by adding quarter-inch clear Plexiglas panels attached securely to the wall or solid window frame.

A safety note here: Reserve the Plexiglass shields for windows around doorways or other non-essential decorative windows. Installing them throughout your home can interfere with exit points if there's a fire.

4. Add Motion-Sensitive Lighting

Take away burglars' biggest advantage — the cover of darkness. Motion-sensitive exterior lighting is activated by even the slightest movement, serving to surprise intruders and provide a visual alarm to the rest of the neighborhood.

5. Landscape Defensively

Make your home less appealing to burglars by keeping vegetation trimmed. Trees, shrubbery, and tall grasses close to your home provide the perfect camouflage for intruders — offering ideal places to hide and cover the traces of a break-in. Pruning shrubs is a free offensive move and the results are immediate. Reserve a few hours next weekend to strategically cut back overgrown hedges, trees, and other greenery.

6. Cover It Up

Burglars often shop their targets before break-ins, peeking in windows to gauge the value of what's inside. Shutting blinds and drawing drapes, especially when no one's home, can help keep the contents of your home away from prying eyes.

7. Stash the Trash

One of the burglary prevention tips from Houselogic.com urges homeowners to be more aware of the trash they set at the curbside. Burglars are busy on trash day, scouting for boxes and other packaging that may signal expensive new purchases. Don't advertise that new 50" flat screen TV you bought by displaying the box curbside. Instead, break packages down, seal in garbage bags, and mix with other refuse.

8. Add Interior Timers

Again, home security advice from The Blog by Allstate stresses the importance of making your home look occupied at all times. Typically, burglars want to avoid a face-to-face confrontation, instead targeting homes where there's an obvious vacancy. Connect timers to interior lights, TVs, and radios. Set lights to come on about hour before sunset and have TVs and radios activate periodically throughout the day.

9. Watch Your Paper Trail

Just as boxes from big ticket items advertise what's inside your home, mail and newspapers piling up advertise that you're out of town. Keep your comings and goings low-profile by holding your mail and stopping and newspaper delivery while you're out of town. If you have a sudden trip and don't have time to prepare, ask a trusted neighbor to collect these deliveries for you and hold them until you return. (See also: How to Eliminate Junk Mail)

10. Get to Know Your Neighbors

There's safety in numbers. Work to build a sense of community between your neighbors. Without being intrusive, get to know names, recognize faces, identify cars, and become familiar with general schedules, etc. Understanding the pattern and flow of your neighborhood can help everyone notice the anomalies that sometimes indicate trouble. (See also: How to Boost Your Neighborhood and Your Home's Value)

Home defense doesn't have to cost a fortune. There are some simple and valuable measures every homeowner can take to make their spaces more secure. With a critical eye, some basic planning, and a few weekend projects, you can make your home safer and build a bit more peace-of-mind in the process.

What steps have you taken to protect your home and property?

This article is from Kentin Waits of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Are you giving burglars the key to your home?

Paul Michael — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 19:29:25 +0000

I’m lucky enough to know, both personally and through friends, some very nice guys in the local police departments. So when they reveal methods of criminals, I am all ears. This time, it was a jailed burglar who gave up the goods on how he committed garage door burglaries.

Like most people with a garage door, I had the garage door keypad fitted. It seemed like a handy thing to have and I’ve used it countless times. With almost 10,000 possible combinations, I felt that it was a safe bet and no burglar would take the time to crack that code. But that safety is a façade. My contact in the Aurora Police Department, here in Colorado, recounted his conversation with the crook.

“He explained that skin, particularly fingertips, emit oils on the keypads when the code is punched in; e.g. 1-4-5-6. He said that other keys on the pads that are never used become dirty with wind, rain and dust. Using a flashlight with a blue or red lens, or even using angles in daylight hours, you can see where the 1-4-5-6 numbers appear clean and/or shiny with use.

Once he could determine the four most used or clean numbers he could “crack” the code in a few minutes or less, leaving no signs of forced entry.”

That’s how simple, and quick, it really is. And how this burglar ripped off many homes. I looked at my own key pad and sure enough, it didn’t take me long to figure out the four digits I use.

But the story doesn’t end there. If the garage doesn't have a keypad, another way to get in is by using a hook to reach up over the garage door and grab the emergency release rope. Just as quick and simple, a household wire hanger will do that job very nicely.

So, what can you do?
When it comes to the emergency rope, remove it. I did a long time ago as I’d heard about this from a neighbor. Just leave a hook handy inside the garage somewhere that you can use to release the door in an emergency.

As for the keypad, well, if you’re really freaked out just remove it. It’s a little inconvenient but if peace of mind is more important to you then you’ll learn to live without it.

If you must keep your keypad, all I can think of is to clean the keys weekly with some good degreaser and cleanser. Maybe something like orange clean. That should at least stop the clues from showing.

And one more nugget of information before you run off and start scrubbing. If you’re a fan of any kind of show like C.S.I. then you may be interested to know that the fingerprint lab finds it extremely difficult to lift prints from these keypads. It’s something to do with the surface condition and texture. So, not only may you be cleaned out, the criminal could leave no trace.

However, if you follow the advice in this article you will hopefully never have to deal with that eventuality. Stay safe folks.

This article is from Paul Michael of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread: