We all need to feel safe and secure in our home. That’s why most of us do everything we can to improve our home security, yet still, more than 220,000 people in Australia fall victim to burglary or break-ins each year.
But why? There are a few common home security mistakes that people make time-and-time-again which are leaving them open to a range of risks.
Most common security mistakes
If you want to improve the security of your home and reduce the risk of burglary and break-ins, make sure you avoid doing these four things:
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Making your home an attractive target
Burglars tend to select their targets based on two key factors: whether the property looks vacant; and the value of the items they’re likely to find in the home.
Things like an overflowing letterbox or rubbish bins left on the curb for several days are tell-tale signs of a vacant property. Similarly, leaving valuable items visible from the street or leaving an expensive car parked in the driveway suggests to a burglar that they’re likely to get a good haul if they target that home.
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Relying on an outdated alarm system
While you might think your existing older alarm system still does the job, think again. Traditional systems which operate using a phone line can be easily defeated by simply snipping the phone line with a pair of scissors, preventing it from being able to alert your security company of a breach—and no one knows this better than burglars.
Modern IP-based security systems don’t have the same vulnerabilities. Instead, they adopt a ‘polled’ system, where a regular heartbeat is sent using both internet connections and mobile networks making them near impossible for burglars to override.
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Opting for cheap, over-the-counter security cameras
Any camera is better than no camera, right? Not necessarily. While many over-the-counter security cameras come with an attractive price tag, they’re nowhere near as effective as professionally installed security cameras.
Operating much like a webcam, many consumer-level cameras are vulnerable to connection dropouts, can be prone to hacking, and offer very poor video quality which may not stand up in court if needed for prosecution.
More importantly, they’re unmonitored—that means that if something does happen at your home, it’s still entirely up to you to handle the issue without the support of a professional security company.
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Failing to regularly test your security system
It’s also important to test and maintain your security system regularly, as a malfunctioning camera or alarm is basically useless.
While quality home security providers like Calamity regularly test and check their customers’ home security systems to ensure they’re fully operational, unfortunately, many unlicensed or untrained installers don’t provide adequate ongoing support and maintenance, leaving their customers vulnerable to burglary and break-ins.
Minimise the risk of break-ins at your home
At Calamity, we make it easy to minimise the risk of break-ins and burglary with our complete home security solutions which are backed by round-the-clock active monitoring from a team of highly trained security professionals.
Contact the security experts at Calamity to find out more.
