The Easiest Way to Keep Your Home Safe

by wendem | Oct 26, 2015 | Personal Protection

As the old saying goes, your home is your castle. Unfortunately, few are equipped with drawbridges, motes and guards—historically effective features designed to prevent unwanted parties from entering. Every year thieves gain access to millions of residences as a result, subjecting the owners to property damage, the loss of belongings and, sometimes, even violence.

The Statistics

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), there were 2,103,787 burglaries in the U.S. in 2012, 74.5 percent of which occurred in homes. While this represents a 3.7 percent decrease in total break-ins when compared to 2011, the number indicates there is still a need for homeowners to take steps to protect their residences, families and personal property.

Door Frame Fortification

Both deadbolts and alarm systems are popular tools you can use to reduce your home’s chances of burglary. However, neither will actually stop a criminal from entering your residence or causing hundreds of dollars of damage to your exterior door. In many cases, all it takes is a strong kick to a standard door to bust through the lock and deadbolt. In mere moments, a thief can gain access and flee with your valuables—all before the security service or local law enforcement can respond.

Fortunately, there is an easy—and inexpensive—way for homeowners and renters to make an attempted door kick-in burglary or invasion less successful. Reinforcing your exterior door frames with a product like Door Devil, Rebar Door Security Device or EZ Armor will make it much more difficult for criminals to kick their way into your home. Because going unnoticed is necessary for a successful burglary, most will be reluctant to make the amount of noise required to force their way through a fortified door.

You can install most door frame fortification devices in 30 minutes, and retail prices starting at $59 make them affordable for families on any budget.

Other Suggestions

Of course, no single security product is 100 percent guaranteed to keep criminals out of your residence. The more tools you use to add layers of protection, the safer your family and belongings will be. Experts suggest considering the following when implementing a home security plan.

• Install battery operated automatic light timers throughout your home. Use them to create the illusion of occupancy when you’re away on vacation or out for the evening.
• Never leave doors or windows unlocked. Do not store a key to your home in an outdoor location where it may be easily found.
• In addition to a door frame reinforcement kit, install door locks with an ANSI grade 1 rating and deadbolt locks with at least 1-inch long horizontal bolts.
• Replace soft, wooden exterior doors with solid core or metal doors. This includes the door leading from your garage into your home.
• Reinforce windows or glass panels within or near exterior doors with invisible security film. This will make it more difficult for a burglar to break the glass and reach through to unlock the door. This also works for ground floor windows and sliding doors.
• Place a metal or wooden rod in the track on your sliding patio door to prevent it from opening more than a few inches.

Everyone wants their home to be safe and secure for their family. Implementing these suggestions should help. If you’d like to learn more about protecting your belongings with homeowners or renters insurance, contact your insurance agent.

Protect Yourself from Robocall Scams

by onlinefinancialnewsletters | Oct 9, 2015 | Personal Protection

The phone rings. You answer—but no one responds. Before you can hit disconnect, a recorded message begins to play. It informs you that you’ve won a free vacation, have been chosen to test a product, are eligible for a reduction in your credit card interest rate, owe money to the IRS, are in trouble with local law enforcement, or need to call your bank or lender due to a change in your account. But none of these statements are true—they’re just fabrications used as bait in new rip-off scams criminals have hatched to steal your personal or financial information.

Though the Do-Not-Call Implementation Act of 2003 made robocalls illegal in 2004—the FCC regulations prohibit telemarketers from calling a cell phone number with an automatic dialer under any circumstance—the practice is still rampant. And because the numbers these calls come from are usually spoofed—meaning they are fakes or have been stolen from a legitimate organization—they’re difficult for authorities to track.

Fortunately, there are several things you—as a consumer—can do to protect yourself from robocall scams as well as reduce the number of unsolicited marketing calls you receive on your cell phone and landline.

• Register your phone numbers with the National Do Not Call Registry. Once you’ve listed your number, legitimate telemarketers must remove you from their call lists. Exceptions include companies with which you have an existing business relationship, businesses that have received written authorization from you, political organizations, charities and telephone surveys.
• Disconnect as soon as you receive a robocall. The recording may give you the option to press a key to opt out or for transfer to a representative. You may also be given a number to call. Do not do this. If you press a key, the number is logged as working—and the quantity of robocalls you receive will increase. If you call a number given in the recorded message, any individual with whom you speak is likely to be a criminal phishing for your information.
• Block the numbers that robocall you. If you’re being harassed on a landline, you’ll have to call your phone service provider. However, it’s easy to block numbers on most new cell phones—usually by reviewing the call log, selecting the number, and choosing “add to reject list.” This won’t eliminate all calls—scam robocallers change spoofed numbers frequently—but it should offer some relief.
• If you’re unsure about the caller, Google it. Enter any phone number into the Google search bar and—if it has been used for scam robocalls—you’re likely to find that information within the search results. Free websites such as com provide reverse number look-up and allow users to post comments regarding the robocalls associated with any given phone number.
• File a complaint with the FTC. As mentioned previously, most robocall caller ID numbers are spoofed. However, reporting them to the FTC can eventually help to track down violators. You can do this for free when you visit gov/complaint or call 888-382-1222. You can also stay up-to-date on recent robocall and email scams reported to the FTC at http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/scam-alerts.