Keep is Secret, Keep it Safe

Keep it Secret…Keep it Safe

 

As I informed you in a previous article on Home Invasions, 1 of every 5 homes will experience a break-in or home invasion this year, according to the FBI crime statistics. That’s over 2,000,000 homes a year and there are over 8,000 home invasions per day in North America. In the last week I’ve personally heard of 5. According to most criminal experts, when a criminal breaks into your home they will spend less than fifteen minutes inside and the will look in the usually places for the most valuable objects to steal. Once the burglar or burglars are inside your home they are going to look in the obvious places, like your Master Bedroom.  The first items of interest to them will be jewelry boxes, lockboxes, cash or checkbooks and any weapons such as guns or rifles. They usually look intensely for these particular items first, unless they are aware of something else you have like a new big screen TV because you advertised it with your trash. The next items that are of interest to the burglar are things they can easily pawn. This usually means electronics such as smaller television, CD players, Laptops (with your personal information on them), computers, watches, cell phones, and cameras.  They will also steal power tools and musical instruments. The next items they will look for are expensive souvenirs you many have collected for years, like a Franklin Mint set, or porcelain figures. Last they will look of anything of value or interest that that they can  keep for themselves.  As I mentioned in an earlier article when my friend’s apartment was broken into years ago, the crooks stole meat from her deep freezer. The most experiences burglars know the best places in the house to look, and can be on their way with your most treasured or valuable possessions in a few moments.

 What can you do?  First never keep your most valuable jewelry in your jewelry box?  My friend only has inexpensive jewelry in her lockable jewelry box. The lock on the box really isn’t a deterrent against a criminal. Please make sure you have an inventory, photos and the serial numbers of all your items, and have them stored some place away from your house. This also helps for insurance purposes such as natural disasters or fire.   So where can you put valuable stuff in your home where it will be safe?  A good safe can cost you upward from $150. But there is a more budget friend alternative solution.

 A remarkable solution is what is known as a hidden safe or diversion safe. This is a concealment device used to hide things for the purpose of secrecy or security. They resemble ordinary household object such as a book, a soda can, a candle, a pillow or a food canister. The general idea is that such an ordinary and inconspicuous thing would not be expected to contain anything of value. These hidden or Diversion safes are inexpensive personal protection products specifically designed to look like every day, ordinary household items, but they are actually either hollowed out containers, or contain a secret compartment that you can hide valuables in to keep them secure from burglars. Various enforcement agencies strongly endorse these products as an inexpensive yet highly effective way to protect your valuable. According to the Chicago Police these units are better than a locked safe and a thousand times cheaper

 Remember the scenario that I gave you, when I burglar breaks into your house, he is going to look in the obvious places.  He is not going to look through your can of fruit cocktail, or at the soda cans in your pantry, or the hair products in your bathroom cabinet, or paint cans in the garage.  After all would you think there is anything of value there?

 The items I mentions above are all available as diversion safes. They come in a wide variety of household objects that can be placed anywhere you would normally expect to see them.  Hidden Products Safes (Diversion Safes) look and feels exactly like the real products and are indistinguishable from the genuine product because they are remanufactured from an original container.  These products safes and are even weighted to feel full.  The realism allow you to hide your valuables in plain sight of the criminals.  We are all familiar with the book safe as seen in many movies, but how many criminals today would think to examine the book shelf where you keep your cook books? How many would ever think cash was in the Rug Deodorant canister under the kitchen sink?  How many with examine the hair spray canister in your bathroom for your mother’s pearls?  Would they think of looking at the flower pots?  There are even hidden safes or key hiders that you can use outside of your house to place your spare key The key rock is common, but unless you have a pile of rock around your yard where it would fit in, I wouldn’t bother.  If you have a sprinkler system, there are key hiders that look like a sprinkler head, there work great in flower gardens.

A Sample of Hidden Safe Products

 

We recommend that as part of your anti-theft countermeasures that you invest in these products and feel more secure that your valuable will be left alone if a thief should pay an unwelcome visit.

 

By Victor Swindell, owner of PepperEyes.com, a division of Swindell Enterprises. PepperEyes.com is dedicated to assist those people who are unwilling to become a victim and are taking personal responsibility to protect themselves, and their families with our pepper spray, stun guns, and other personal security products. In today’s society being equipped mentally and physically is no longer an option.

Home Break in Victims…Why be one?

It's Easy to get into your home

This past week there were three reported home break in that I heard on Live 5 News (WCSC) this is one of them

 http://www.foxcarolina.com/news/19704660/detail.html

http://www.live5news.com/global/story.asp?s=10526794

 

With news like

 Police say two men forced their way into the house and demanded their money, saying if the victims tried anything they’d shoot them. Both suspects were holding t-shirts over their faces to hide their identities.

 Or

 Deputies said that at about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, five men broke into the home of Edward McDaniel. They said the men stole money, jewelry and guns from the home.

 We can’t help but stress the importance of doing all that you can to prevent becoming the next victim. According to a StrikeMaster II offers a unique and innovative solution to prevent burglars from entering your home, StrikeMaster IIstrikes-back instantly. Its patented strike plates make the door casing virtually unbreakable. This is the easiest to install door jamb reinforcement product on the market today installed on over 15,000 homes

A former police officer was recently quoted. “I am a retired Chief of Police with more than 30 years in law enforcement and security and have investigated 1000′s of residential burglaries and domestic assaults that were due to the crashing or kicking in of the doors at the home. …. I am proud to announce that I have seen an amazing new product called the StrikeMaster II. This is inexpensive and stronger than any would-be homicidal maniac, I promise… the security market has finally produced a product that is better than locks and alarms. I highly recommend this product on all your outside doors at your home.” – Donald Purnell CLL, CFE, Director of Security, Sentry Watch, I

 

Will your door frame fail?

United States Department of Justice report: 1 of every 5 homes will experience a break-in or home invasion. That’s over 2,000,000 homes!   The easiest way for a criminal to get into your house is just too kick-in your door! The FBI says every 12 seconds a home is invaded by going right through the front or back door. This is called door frame failure. FBI statistics show 70% of all break-ins are from door-frame failure. 2:00 in the afternoon is the biggest break-in time Open your front door and look at the dead bolt plate. There is one inch of soft wood protecting the safety of your home – your door casings can not protect you from a thief kicking your door.

“If the primary locks on your doors are entry locksets, and they’re working fine, there’s probably little to gain by replacing them.  None of the entry locksets afforded great protection, not even top-rated ones. If you want to make your doors more secure, start by beefing up the hardware in their door jambs.”
-Consumer Reports recommendation

 

By Victor Swindell, owner of PepperEyes.com, a division of Swindell Enterprises. PepperEyes.com is dedicated to assist those people who are unwilling to become a victim and are taking responsibility to protect themselves.

Tag …your the next Idenity Thieft Victim

Yesterday I was listening to the Michael Baisden show where the topic of the hour was Identity theft.  This is not the first time that this was discussed on the show. I don’t remember who the topic guest was, as I was in the car, but the information, testimonies and methods used to get, sell and use your identity should make everyone prepared to guard their identity. 

Last year I received a phone call in my office, from Jamaica, and the caller proceeded to tell me that I had won a million dollars in their lottery. At first I thought this was like the Canadian lottery or UK Lottery scams until they started validating my personal information.   Remember they called me at work, they also knew my full name, social security number, address, and birthday. I didn’t tell them anything, I just listened.  I told them that they had the wrong social security number and had the wrong person, but it did make me want to check by credit report to see what if anything had been done. Had I become a victim if Identity theft?

Identity theft affects millions of Americans every year, and no one is immune to the possibility of becoming a victim of identity theft. According to the Today Show and MSNBC 1 in 12 Americans will become victims of identity theft.  If you had a chance to see NBC’s Dateline episode on “To Catch and ID Thief”  it gave some great information on Identity theft.  If you’ve ever seen the Michelle Brown Story on Lifetime, you can also get a glimpse of the nightmare your life can become once you’ve been a victim.

 How do you know you’re a victim?

Your identity can be stolen by dumpster divers who are obtaining your bank statements, credit card applications or statements, checks from your trash or mail, purse or wallet, or getting your debit card number from a corporate database. Your information can also be stolen by employees of business where you used your cards, or from old company computers that were thrown out that were thought to have been wiped. Once an identity thief has this information, they can wreck your name. Since the crime may take days, weeks or even months before you noticed what happened, it’s easy for the criminal to commit several crimes before you’ve realized what occurred. Bills are run up in your name, your credit gets trashed, and you have to argue with those idiot bill collectors over money that you haven’t even spent. Just about every aspect of your life becomes an open book, and it’s a long and painful process to fix everything. If you are unfortunate enough to become the victim of identity theft, you will undoubtedly spend many, many hours trying to clear your name and remedy the situation

How many news stories have you seen on the news where some databases, like TD Ameritrade, TJ MAXX, Monster.com, and T-M0bile were stolen or hacked into and their customer’s personal information has been compromised!!  This is one of the reasons why Massachusetts has enacted a Data Privacy Law, which I hope is going to propagate across the nation to help secure personal information of customers and clients. However, thieves are very resourceful.

Identity Theft doesn’t have to happen on a large scale like that the TJ MAXX incident. Many thefts occur because a close friend or even a family member who is bad with money will steal the information of someone they know so they can get a cell phone, a car, a house, open a bank account or even gamble online. This includes their friends, their relatives, or even their own children. Identity Theft is spinning out of control and is becoming a fast growing international crime. Data breaches, internet fraud and email scams are occurring on a daily basis, not to mention the risk from people you know or do business with. Thieves could be stealing your personal information to not only establish credit, but use it for employment, insurance, benefits and social security fraud. This crime leaves your credit history in a mess and it can you take years to rebuild it.

 Here are some of the indicators that you may have become a victim.

• A call from a collection agency about an account you don’t have.
• Bank and billing statements don’t arrive on time.
• Checks have disappeared from your checkbook.
• Your credit report shows accounts you didn’t open.
• A bill from a credit account you didn’t open.
• Unauthorized charges on your debit, long distance or bank accounts.
• You are turned down for a loan, mortgage or other forms of credit because of unauthorized debts on your credit report.

 

What do you do if you’ve become an identity theft victim?

• File a report with your local police department  where your wallet, credit cards, etc., were stolenand keep a copy of the report for your personal records.  This
• Obtain a FREE copy of your credit report and look for any suspicious activity. By Federal law you are allowed to get 1 free one from each of the major services each year. 
• Report any suspicious charges and accounts to the appropriate credit card issuers and credit bureaus immediately via the phone and in writing. Cancel the accounts.
• If your purse or wallet is stolen, cancel all cards immediately and get replacements. Also, put a “stop payment” on all lost or stolen cards.
• Contact the three main credit reporting companies (see list below) to put a fraud victim alert on your credit report. The three main credit reporting bureaus are Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union. You can report fraud or get a copy of your FREE credit report by reaching one of these companies. Once you report to one bureau, the other two agencies will be sent the report. A fraud alert will be put on your account by each company and you will be sent a copy of your credit report.

 How can you reduce your chances of becoming a victim?

During the Michael Baisden show they were plugging the company Lifelock. You know that commercial with Todd Davis having this social security number 457-55-5462 on a truck and daring thieves to steal is identity. So they did!  According to various news articles and the Today Show, Todd has had his identity stolen a few times while even with LifeLock.  You can Google this story to get the facts, and make up your own mind.  If you want to know if you should do business with any company, type that company’s name and the words complaints, lawsuits, and scams into a search engine like Google or Yahoo and evaluate the results.  There is actually a class action suit against Lifelock because of some of the things they do.  My best advice is to do research on any company or person who you are going to do business with or allow to take care of your kids. Personally I won’t use Lifelock, but I guess it’s better than nothing. According to the Federal Trade Commission, nearly 10 million Americans fell victim to identity theft last year, at an average cost of $5,000 per victim. However, two-thirds of victims who discovered the misuse of their personal information within five months incurred no out-of-pocket expenses, other than the one they paid for having some type of protection service. 

There are also those credit monitoring service such as TrustedID, IDWatchDog, and Identity Guard, just to name a few, that you can pay to help protect you. It used to be that was all these services did was to monitor your credit report and alert you to weird items. The rest was up to you. So if it happens that your identity was stolen, they let you know about items that appear on your credit report, but it was up to you to go from there and clean up the mess.  Many of these services are now beginning to offer more than just monitoring services. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission says it takes 12 months, on average, for a victim of identity theft to notice the crime. A credit monitoring service will alert you, usually daily or weekly, to changes in your credit – helping you to stop the theft before it gets out of control.

 Needless to say becoming an identity theft victim happen to you can wreak havoc on your life and taking steps to protect yourself from becoming their next victim has become a necessity. I personally wouldn’t spend a dime on those on fraud alert or credit monitoring programs that only focus on credit related risks. But as I said those services are better than nothing.  Identity theft insurance is one particular product that companies have begun to offer consumers in response to the growing threat of identity theft. There are companies such as Zander, Allstate, and others that offer Identity theft Insurance that offers great programs that covers all types of identity theft and they take over all the work and pay your expenses if you are a victim.  As always do your homework and research on what protection and services the various companies offer before you invest a dime your money.
Here are some other things you can do, to minimize being an identity theft victim

• Use cash for your transactions as much as possible (it also helps control your level of debt)
• Never carry your Social Security Card
• Never put your SSN on your Checks (we used to do this in the Military)
• Never put your full name on your checks. USE your First, (Second) initials and last name.
• When writing any check to pay a bill never write the full account number, use only the last 4 digits.
• SHRED, any document that has account numbers, your address, your social security number on it including old checks (older than seven years)
• Use locking filing cabinets for your financial paperwork, or keep such papers in a secure place
• Make copies (front and back) of all of your credit cards, and other documents and store these in a safe location.
  

  Protect your computer data

• Password protect your computer and encrypt any financial files.  
• Change ALL OF passwords every six months.
• Don’t give anyone (including family) your credit/debit cards or PINs.
• Get a firewall program, a privacy filter and encrypt the data on your computer and laptop.
• Lock your computer (screen saver) when your away from it.
• Get new Credit Card or Debit Cards every 18 months. Just tell the issuing bank you’ve lost the old one. After all they really want to keep you using their service.
• Be cautious who you ask to house sit or pick up your mail, you can even get a mail box alarm to let you know when the mail arrives, or over just get a PO Box if you can invest the time and money.
• Monitor your accounts online if use programs like Money or Quicken, you can sync all your account with your computer so you can monitor all the accounts in one shot on a regular basis.
• Pull your credit reports every fur months.  Since you’re allowed 1 Free one from each of the three major agencies, just pull a different one every 4 months. Put a reminder on your calendar. Credit Reporting Agencies:

Equifax
800-525-6285
Experian
888-397-3742
www.experian.com

TransUnion
1-800-680-7289
www.transunion.com

Free Credit Report
https://www.annualcreditreport.com (They are FREE by Federal Law)

 Social Security Administration (fraud line): 1-800-269-0271

By Victor Swindell, owner of PepperEyes.com, a division of Swindell Enterprises. PepperEyes.com is dedicated to assist those people who are unwilling to become a victim and are taking responsibility to protect themselves.

Beware Greeks Bearing Gifts….

 

 

Beware Web Scams

A few days ago I received the following e-mail in my mail box.

—————————————————————————————————-

It is my pleasure to inform you that on May 15th, 2009 your information was reviewed and accepted for inclusion in the 2009/2010 edition of our registry.  

Strathmore’s Whos Who each year, recognizes and selects key executives, professionals and organizations in all disciplines and industries for outstanding business and professional achievements.

This recognition is shared by those who have reached a distinguished level of success in their chosen profession.

Please take a moment to complete the invitation by clicking on the link below. We ask that you complete it carefully, as it will be reviewed by our editorial department.

<INK REMOVED>

** Please complete the online link by June 15th.

Strathmore’s Whos Who is pleased to inform you that there are no fees or dues to be included in the publication.

On behalf of the CEO and our esteemed staff, we wish you continued success.

Sincerely,

J.M. Blakely

Vice President, Research Division

Strathmore’s Whos Who
26 Bond St.
Westbury NY 11590
Phone: 516-997-2525

 

——————————————————————————————————————-

When I initially read it, I felt honored, for someone being recognizing the ‘little guy’ who is working hard, trying to build a successful small company and wanting to give his customers the best service. But something just didn’t feel right about this e-mail. One of the things I tell my readers about their personal protection is to trust your instincts.    First because I’m also a bit skeptic, as this was an e-mail and not a letter in the mail, and two I know this wasn’t going to be a FREE honor. When I attempted to click on the link to see what they wanted the site link was trapped by my internet filter flagged it as a Scam site. Ah Ha..I thought,so what is this all about.

 So I looked up their organization via Google, http://www.strathmore-ltd.com/  which looks extremely  legitimate. I then did the next thing which was go to Google and look up their name followed by the word Scams (you can also use the word complaints) BINGO, I thought. There were 25,200 hits on Google, and these are just the one from people who were able or willing to put it on the internet that they have been scammed. There were also only 38 complaints against Strathmore’s Whos Who on the BBB Web site.

 My word for those looking to protect their wallets and their reputation is to just say NO.

 I became suspicious of the whole who’s who thing when I was in College and my little brother was in High School.  When I was in high school, I worked hard, studied hard, took all the right classes, joined the nice clubs, and was a bit active in the Key Club.  I was one of those students who got a whole page in the Senior yearbook as an outstanding student and a few awards.

 My little brother did none of those things, but was very popular with the “party” crowd.

Guess which of us was invited to be included in Who’s who among American high school students .. that right my little brother.

 So I my advice to you all is…beware Greeks bearing gifts.

By Victor Swindell, owner of PepperEyes.com, a division of Swindell Enterprises. PepperEyes.com is dedicated to assist those people who are unwilling to become a victim and are taking responsibility to protect themselves, their cars, or their possessions with our pepper spray, stun guns, and other personal protection products.

HOME INVASIONS – Part 4 – Defensive Strategies – Internal Defenses

Is your home secure

 

As I stated at the start of this series, most people think of their domicile as a safe haven where they feel protected from the elements of the ‘outside’ world. This includes crime. Sadly, an ever growing criminal element as confirmed by the nightly news has revealed that this is often not the case.  According to the FBI, in the United States along more than 6 million homes are broken into each year. This happens most when the home owners are away on vacation. It also happens a lot in the summer time the home owners are away at work. (See Summer Time, Summer Crime)  Sadly, most people only think about making their homes secure after a burglary has occurred. Perhaps after reading this series you’ll be proactive in this approach. If you have been following this series, you should be familiar with the probability of your becoming a victim. 

 The goal of a residential security system is to detect an intruder as early as possible, alert the home’s occupants to his presence, and scare him away before he does any harm. Progressive layers of protection accomplish this goal. Imagine four concentric circles around your house, with your family and your most valuable possessions at the center. The interior of your home is the second layer, the exterior shell of your home is the third, and the property around your home is the fourth. Over fifteen years ago, a friend of mine had her apartment broken into, the gained entry by prying open the rear window which was in an area which could not be observed by the neighbors. They went through her jewelry box, deep freezer, and clothes.  She has no alarm system or alarm stickers. While she did have her windows and doors locked, it was not enough.  In this last article, we are going to examine what steps you need to take should take to minimize your being a target,  and what to do after a thief has gain access to your home while you were out.  

• Make sure your home looks as if someone is living in it at all times. If possible, ask a trusted friend, neighbor or family member to stay in your home while you are away. Otherwise, arrange for them to visit your house each day to pick up the mail, any newspapers, deliveries, and turn on lights.
   
• Be sure to have your lawn taken care of every week if you are gone for a long period; a well manicured lawn gives the impression that you are home or in town.
• Put Your Street Number, Not Your Name, and on your Mailbox: Why put more information out there than necessary, with that piece of knowledge, thieves can dial directory information with your name and street address, then call to see if anyone’s home. You may also want to turn your ringer as low as possible so that the would-be-thief can’t hear your phone ringing.  If possible, you may want to have your calls forward to another address, or your cell phone.  Many people have opted not to have home phones and only have cell phones. Never leave a message on your answering machine saying you’re away on a trip, or that you are not home. You’d be surprised at how many people do this.
• Censor Your Trash: The box that new flat-screen TV came in announces that you have stuff worth stealing. Cut the carton up and tie the pieces together before you put them out on the curb. If you’ve even gone out on Christmas day, you can look at your neighbors trash and see what they got, and so can a thief casing neighborhoods.
• Lighting is an important crime deterrent. Your residence should be well lit. Consider a combination of photoelectric lighting (which automatically switches itself on at dusk and off at dawn) and motion-sensitive lighting (which switches itself on the instant an intruder steps into its range) to cover strategic areas. Make sure the lights are positioned at a height that intruders cannot easily disable them. Electronic timers that turn internal lights on and off at different times are also important. If you can get a timer that has a random  feature so that of someone casing you house when the lights, television or radio don’t always come on at 8PM, they may become suspect that the house is not empty. People who leave the lights on all day “might as well put out a sign in their front yard saying they’re out of town,”
• Use Radio and Televisions. I have programmable televisions that will can turn on and off at certain times.  I usually have them set to CNN or some other news station so it sound like someone talking. However, Televisions use lots of electricity, so the best alternative is to use a Radio that is turned on to Talk Radio, but leave set it high enough to be heard but low enough so they can’t exactly tell it’s the radio.
• Exterior Doors.
  Examine your exterior doors. Do they appear solid and sturdy? Your exterior doors should be constructed of solid wood or metal for the most protection against break-ins. Try inserting a straight pin into the door, if it goes in without much effort, you have a hollow door that can easily be kicked in by burglars. Make sure that all doors are kept locked at all times. In addition to your door knob or key lock, you should have a high quality dead bolt lock installed on all entry way doors. Deadbolts can withstand the prying and pounding that a regular key lock can’t.  Since I’ve already covered what steps to take to prevent your door from being kicked in, I’ll just refer you back to that.If you have glass windows on your doors or next to your doors, consider installing a double cylinder deadbolt. This type of deadbolt requires a key to open it from the outside and the inside.Not all robberies occur in an unoccupied house, you may also consider a peephole so you can see who is at your door before you open it. It is not uncommon for a thief to knock on your door and wait for you to open it, and then rush in and subdue you. This is true especially; if they know you live alone. You can get them from a Hardware store and they take about 5 minutes to install. I recently did this on my front door.I was our surveying neighborhoods a few weeks ago, and noticed a few people had signs on their doors that would make you think twice before you even knocked on their door. They read something like “I have two 45′s and one bad attitude, please make my day”  I know if I was thief I would think twice.
• Interior Doors
  When your not home close your interior doors.  This will cause would be thieves who don’t know your home layout to spend a bit more time figuring out where the good stuff is. It also helps lower your home energy bill. In my home we have the pepper spray behind each of the doors so that if someone does come in, while my wife or daughter is home alone they have something to get to. Of course, we have other protection devices as well.
• Close Most Shades: If a thief can’t see inside your house, he or she won’t know if there’s anything worth stealing. But keep a few shades open that on the second floor to make it look as if someone is home. Please make sure no one can see into these.
• Windows
  Windows should be closed, locked, and secured anytime that you are not in your home or anytime at night. Many burglars, and worse, have easily entered homes through unsecure windows while the home’s occupants sleep.Consider installing window locks  on all windows to help prevent them from being broken into. If you have double-hung windows, ones that slide up and down, you can utilized window pinning or track fillers to add inexpensive security. Window pinning is done by inserting a pin or nail above a window so it can’t be opened Track fillers are items such as a wooden pole that is placed into the track of the window.If you don’t have a home alarm system, also consider getting some security stickers, and an inexpensive door and window alarm kit.
• Protecting your stuff
  • Valuables should not be kept in the main bedroom as this is usually the first place the burglars searches. Use a properly hidden safe to lock your valuables and firearm away. A child’s room is also an area rarely touched by burglars who usually presume that it contains nothing worthwhile for them.  If you have a garage you can also use hidden product safes to hide your valuables.
  • Keep Two Jewelry Boxes And Lock Up Your Valuables: It may sound obvious, but thieves know  from watching television that most people  like to hide our most important things under the bed, in a coffee tin, or behind a bookcase. So keep  your passports, Social Security cards, and the  other important documents or items like in a bank safe-deposit box or in a heavy-duty combination safe you can bolt to the floor in a closet. Real Simple also suggests tricking thieves by essentially having two jewelry boxes: Store inexpensive pieces in the nice-looking case on your dresser. Stash the good bits in a safe. A thief may be fooled by the “cheap box” and not bother looking for more. There are also some very good inexpensive Hidden product safes that you can use to hide your valuable. Would you think to look a paint can twice, or a that Ajax cleaner under the sink?
  • Make a valuables inventory and keep a photographic or videotape record of your expensive and personally significant items. Store this inventory at a safe location. It is also recommended that you mark these items with some kind of personal information. This is helpful for both police and insurance purposes. Remember to review this list yearly as things change.

 So let’s say NOTHING worked, you had a thief that worked out that they could get into you home, despite your security system and get your brand new plasma TV, or other valuable and be gone before the police arrives.  When you enter your home and notice the mess and know you’ve been robbed. This is what you should do. 

• If you see you door kick in, DO NOT ENTER. A well armed thief  could still be in your home
• Go to another phone or use your cell phone, if you have one and call police at once.
• Don’t touch anything in your home. Leave everything exactly as you find it, so that evidence won’t be destroyed.
• Don’t attempt a personal investigation, let the police handle it.
• Give police any information you have, such as description of person(s) involved (if neighbors saw anything, or you had a hidden camera that recorded the crime), items missing, etc. If strange cars have been in neighborhood, give description or license number.
• Contact the insurance company as soon as possible,

  

  No method is 100 percent effective against burglaries, but with the steps described in this series, will help decrease your chances of being the next burglary victim. If you need additional information about home security, contact your local Neighborhood Watch Program, Sheriff’s Office or a local security service. 

By Victor Swindell, owner of PepperEyes.com, a division of Swindell Enterprises. PepperEyes.com is dedicated to assist those people who are unwilling to become a victim and are taking responsibility to protect themselves, their cars, or their possessions with our pepper spray, stun guns, and other personal protection products.