Burglars Targeting Homes During Funerals
Don’t Be the Next Victim Breaking into and robbing someone’s home has always been a very low thing to do, so there is no such thing as an honorable burglar. However, there is a such thing as a burglar stooping to the lowest of lows and that’s when they break into someone’s home during a funeral. This is a terrible act that is happening all around the country. Burglars are scouring the obituaries, getting the names of the next of kin so they can target their homes while they’re gone. Recently, one woman went to her mother’s funeral. When she returned, her home had been broken into and electronics were missing. Straight from the Burglar One of the comments the robbery victim made was, “I wish I had a home security system.” She then lamented about how her neighborhood has always been relatively quiet. Break-ins aren’t common there, so the need for a security alarm simply wasn’t something that had ever crossed her mind. She lived in the community her entire life, so such things as surveillance cameras, motion detectors, and a security alarm were never priorities. Many of the once safe communities around the Rochester area have noticed an uptick in break-ins, which takes away the sense of security that many people once had. What burglars are doing is going through the obituaries and looking for spouses, children, or grandchildren of the deceased. They can identify them on social media where they can find out their age. By simply knowing a person’s age, they can do a people search on the internet and find an address. It is that simple. Obituaries provide a lot of information about survivors, such as what cities they live in and who their spouses are. It can also be easy to identify which children are theirs. This makes it much easier to identify the exact person referenced in the obituary. The burglar knows that those individuals will not be home during the service for at least a couple of hours. They then case the house and determine how their plan will be executed. Preventing Burglaries During Funerals It is important to do what you can to avoid a burglary during a funeral. In just a matter of minutes, a burglar from go from the obituary to looking at your home via Google Maps to find vulnerabilities. Here is what you can do: Invest in surveillance cameras. Not only will they help you when you are at a funeral, but also while you are at work, out of town, visiting a friend, or doing anything away from home. With remote access, you can keep an eye on your home while gone. When a burglar arrives, you can capture their face. Have a security system installed. When a burglar accesses the home, the alarm will sound and the authorities will be alerted. Most of the time, an alarm runs a burglar off very quickly. Have someone watch the home while you are gone. It is good to have a friend come by to keep an eye on things if you are going to be gone for a while. If a burglar sees someone is there, they aren’t going to come inside. If someone can’t house sit for you, tell your neighbors you’ll be gone so they can keep an eye on things. When your home is under surveillance or has an alarm, make it known. You can post notices or alarm signage outside of the home, which tells burglars that they don’t have a chance. Contact An Experienced Rochester Alarm Company Don’t fall victim to funeral burglars. Even if you feel your neighborhood is safe, you never know when someone will take a chance and break into your home while you’re gone. This is a terrible trend that is growing in frequency, but you can cut the burglar off at the pass by calling SPS Fire & Security at 585-770-0348 and seeing how home security can keep you, your family, and your property safe.
Former Burglars Reveal Reasons for Targets
Why Do Burglars Choose Certain Homes? Did you know that 71.9 percent of burglars target homes? That’s a staggering number. This figure was released by an NBC affiliate that sent surveys to convicted burglars throughout New Jersey and Jew York. The idea was to uncover the strategies that they used to break into homes. Below is what they found out, which is important for you to know so you can boost your home security and keep you and your family safe. The Biggest Findings The biggest findings had to do with unlocked windows. Forty-two percent of the burglars that completed the survey said that they entered their target homes through unlocked windows. Thirty-eight percent of them entered through unlocked doors. That is a lot of people leaving their doors and windows unlocked. The most common place they found valuables was in the bedroom. This was the first place that 75 percent of burglars looked after they broke in. The most targeted items were cash and jewelry. 84 percent of them went for cash and 80 percent of them went for the jewelry. Home security alarms do scare off burglars. Forty-two percent of burglars said that they left immediately when they saw an alarm system. Give Your Home Security a Boost If you don’t have a home security alarm, it is time to invest because that is the biggest deterrent when it comes to burglars entering your home. Here are some tips to help you give your home security the bump that you need: Install image sensors near all your windows or doors so that activity can be detected. If activity is detected, then the notification is sent to the monitoring center and to you. Smart lights are very good because they trigger at random times. This makes it appear as if someone is home although they aren’t. The lights can also be set to respond to certain events, such as movement in the home. If someone breaks in, a light can come on, and that can make the burglar go away. Surveillance cameras where there are high-valued items can be very useful. You can also place them near windows and doors. They can be placed inside and out. Back to the monitored home security alarm, one burglar gave advice to his own mother and that was for her to invest in an alarm system for her home so she would be protected. That says a lot when a burglar is telling his mother to protect herself against people like him. Other Security Tasks In addition to the items listed above, there are other things that you can do aside from keeping windows and doors locked and installing a security system. One thing is to make sure you lock your valuables away in a safe. Because burglars like to look in bedrooms first, you don’t want those things hiding under a mattress or in a drawer. If the safe is one that can be bolted to the floor or installed in a wall, you won’t lose those items. Also, never keep valuables sitting where a burglar can look through a window and see them. When they case the house, they are going to look through windows to see what they can steal. During the holiday season or even around birthdays, don’t leave empty boxes to electronics out with the trash. When a burglar sees that you have gotten a new television or computer, they are more likely to break into your home to steal those items. Make sure your windows and doors are locked while you’re inside. It is preached often that you need to lock them when you leave, but there are burglaries that happen while the occupants are home. This can be a very frightening experience. Make sure your doors are locked, windows are locked, and that your home security system is armed. That way if someone enters your home, your security system will alert you and the monitoring center will be alerted as well. Contact A Rochester Home Security Company One of the biggest things that you can do to ensure your home is safe from burglars is to contact SPS Fire & Security. Our experience, state-of-the-art equipment, and excellent service will help you protect everything that is important to you. To learn more, call us at 585-770-0348.