Home Security Solutions – Start Outdoors

No matter what part of the country you live in or how rough your neighborhood may or may not be, there are some home security solutions that you can do to help insure the security of your home and family.  Since our goal is to prevent a beak-in from ever occurring in the first place, I want to start outdoors.

Since a burglar has to be able to gain access into your home, I want to give you some simple home security solutions that just about anyone can do and it’s also affordable.  The first thing I want you do is to go outside your home with a pad of paper and a pen so that you can take notes.

Go to the front of your house by the street and take a good hard look at your home.  Put yourself in a burglar’s shoes and see what they see.  Here is what I want you to look for:

  • Are there any hiding places near the doors or windows?  Having a good place to hide gives a burglar time to break in without being seen.
  • Is there a clear view of your front door from the street?  Even if a burglar doesn’t use the front door to gain access, they may use it to exit the premises.  What are the chances that they will be seen?

Next, I want you to make a note of any plants, trees, or shrubs that should be trimmed or removed in order to remove any possible hiding places for a burglar.  Now walk around the rest of the house looking for any other plants that should be removed.  While you walk around also look for:

  • Items that could help a burglar to gain entry – for example tools laying around, ladders left out, a trellis that could be used as a ladder, etc.
  • Could you add some thorny plants around your windows, making the environment a sticky situation for any would be burglar?
  • Do you have any flood lights with motion sensors so that if someone is walking around your house at night, they get lit up?

These are just a few of the home security solutions that will help you stay secure in your home. Another thing that you may want to consider doing is adding a yard sign and/or window stickers that give the appearance that you have a residential home security system. It’s not as good as actually having a security system but it will make a burglar think twice about your place.


Portable Home Security – Perfect for Renters

Having a home security system in your dwelling can make a huge difference in how safe and comfortable you feel in your own home. If you live alone, have a family with small children, or live in the city where crime and theft are proven to be higher, you would probably enjoy the sense of protection that a residential alarm system would provide you. The only problem with most comprehensive residential alarm systems is that they required complicated wiring and installation, which usually means drilling some holes in your walls, windows and door jambs. When you are the owner of your home, these things are not even given a second thought because ultimately they will improve the value of your home. However, when you are only renting your domicile, the landlord or building Management Company might prevent you from making these kinds of alterations. If you’re a renter who still believes in having the protection you deserve, it’s time to think about a portable home security system.

If you’ve never heard of a portable home security system before, you should know that there are many different options available on the market today. Which one works best for you and your lifestyle will ultimately depend on your budget, the type of home you live in, and the type of alarm system you are most likely to use on a regular basis. Some of the most basic portable home security systems are very compact in size, run completely off of battery power, and consist of simple, self contained units.

Some different kinds of portable home security systems also come in cellular models, meaning that you can literally bring them anywhere and they will still be able to protect you. If you are a business person that travels a lot, or you’re a student that will be travelling in a foreign country by yourself, a portable home security system can be used to arm your hotel or hostel room. There are even hotel specific varieties that can simply hang off of your hotel room door knob.

Depending on what you are prepared to spend on a portable home security system, you will find models that come with just an alarm system, or models that also come with motion detection. The great thing about many of these portable home security systems is that they are completely wireless, meaning they are even more secure from would-be thieves that think cutting the wires is the way to gain access.

Just a note of caution about using portable home security systems – be sure to check the system on a regular basis to make sure that everything is functioning properly and the battery is still doing its job.  Checking your system at least once a month is a good idea.  You want to be sure that your portable alarm system is working when it’s not needed so that it will alert you to trouble when it is needed.


Identity Theft Stories – Learn from the Experiences of Others

Ever since the beginning of substitutions for cash money, like paper checks and debit cards, dishonest people have been finding inventive new ways to steal them from hardworking people and use them for their own enjoyment. Slowly but surely, people have realized that the process of using a paper check leaves too much to chance, as many early identity theft stories involved stolen check books and the resulting over drawn accounts. Eventually people began asking for identification when a check was used for a purchase or cashed, but by this point thieves were moving on to bigger and better things as well.

Now there are many different resources available for listening to and reading the identity theft stories of other people. Even if this tragedy has not ever occurred to you, the chances are that it will, on some level, in your lifetime. Now is the time to look over some of these identity theft stories to see if you can learn any preventative measures from the people and circumstances that they describe. Not everyone will have a situation that you can relate to, but many will include details about what people wish they could have done differently, both in their financial habits and in the reporting process.

Many identity theft stories start and end with the debit card. As a unique type of currency that has all but eliminated the need for slow paper checks, the debit card acts in many ways like a credit card. This means that the debit card has the ability to be used in any type of purchase situation in which a credit card would otherwise be accepted, the only difference is the money is withdrawn directly from your checking account instead of being charged to your credit card account.

Debit cards are very handy, except that people use them in many situations that allow the account number to be stolen. If you have ever used your debit card to make an over the phone purchase, you are literally giving the person on the other end of the line full access to your money. Many identity theft stories include details about debit card transactions that show up on a person’s account. While, the money might eventually be replaced by your bank, there are other consequences, like bounced checks and missed payments that will take a while to truly recover from. Protect yourself by only using your debit card in secure transactions.