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How to Prevent Thieves from Stealing your PIN Code

It’s important to stay up-to-date with current security safety tips. Unfortunately, criminals always seem to come up with new ways to commit crimes. There is a new technique that is becoming pretty popular and, shockingly, this technique makes it pretty easy to steal an ATM PIN code using only an iPhone.

Thieves are using a new iPhone attachment that displays infrared, which allows thieves to “see” the temperature of things. To steal a PIN code, a criminal waits behind you in line. When you make a debit or credit transaction, your last step is usually inputting your PIN. Once you’ve done this and stepped away from the keypad, the criminal steps forward, points his or her phone at the keypad and uses the infrared viewer to see the last PIN that was typed in. It works by displaying the heat that was generated by your body as you touched the keys, so that means one of the most common security tips – shielding the key pad when you type in your PIN – won’t help.

A study on this technique showed that people using an infrared device were able to figure out their victims’ PIN code 80% of the time if the image was taken right after the code was entered.

This technique can work for more than just PIN codes in stores and on ATM keypads. It can also be used on cars and door entry systems that use a keypad and PIN. You will need to be aware of this crime and use security tips in order to prevent it from happening to you.

The Security Safety Tips That Will Keep Your PIN Safe

So what security safety tips can you use to you protect yourself from this crime?

One piece of good news is that this technique doesn’t work on metal keypads. Another piece of good news is that you can protect yourself by simply resting your fingers on other keys of the keypad while entering your code. By resting your fingers on other numbers (but not pressing them) it’s possible to fool the infrared camera. It won’t be able to tell the difference between the heat left behind on the keys pressed and the heat that remains on the keys that you simply rested your fingers on.

This is just one of the security safety tips that you should keep in mind.

This latest crime technique shows how important it is that you are always aware of your actions and surroundings when you are in public. This is especially true while handling financial matters. Criminals are always looking for new ways to steal PIN codes and other financial information, thus so it’s important that you remain diligent and on top of the latest criminal techniques.

Hamilton Gun Store Robbery Video Footage Released

Video surveillance camera footage shows shocking crime and the effectiveness of alarm systems and security tools.

A Hamilton gun store was robbed when three men drove a stolen car through the front window of the property. Surveillance camera footage recently released by Hamilton Police shows the suspects driving the vehicle directly through the front window of the store at around 1am on March 10, 2014. Police released the surveillance camera footage on Wednesday September 17 in hopes that it would lead to tips from the public that would identify the criminals.

After driving the car through the window, the three men are seen stealing three shotguns from the store. However, the suspects ditched the guns in a nearby alley and they were later recovered by police. Police believe that the alarms set off in the store may have scared the suspects into dumping the weapons.

This situation shows the power of alarm systems and surveillance camera footage. The alarm system managed to scare the criminals into abandoning the stolen weapons, which is incredibly important for public safety.

“Who knows what could have a happened with these guns in the wrong hands?” said Staff-Insp. Emidio Evangelista. “We want to catch these guys.”

How a Surveillance Camera Protects your Business

It also shows how a surveillance camera can be utilized by police to investigate crimes and identify criminals. Having a video surveillance set-up at your business can provide police with crucial details regarding a crime and those who committed it.

This crime also demonstrates the importance of physical security tools. Security bars and gates drastically reduce the likelihood of a break-in. They can be installed on the interior or exterior of a business property and can help prevent “smash and grab” robberies by putting a physical barrier between the criminals and the inside of your property.

Reinforced doors and doorframes are also excellent physical tools that make it significantly more difficult for criminals to break into a location. They work well when combined with a surveillance camera set up. Door and door frame interlocking systems not only reinforce your door frames, but also interconnect the doors and the frame when a door is shut and locked. This greatly improves security and makes smash and grab robberies significantly less likely.

For more information on how physical security tools can work in conjunction with your existing alarm systems and surveillance camera systems, please contact a SafeTech loss prevention expert today.

Home Security News: Police Over $5 Million in Recover Stolen Property

Home security is important for a number of reasons. Recent police raids show just how important it is to protect your property.

Toronto, York Region and Niagara police recently raided several homes, arrested eight people and recovered a large amount of stolen property. 23 high-end vehicles and various other property valued over $5 million was recovered during the raids. This situation is an example of how home security technology is crucial.

Those arrested allegedly broke into homes and stole vehicles and other assets including designer clothing, purses and jewellery. Several imitation firearms were also found during the raids.

The three police regions came together to conduct the raids after a series of break-and-enters and vehicle thefts were reported in Toronto neighbourhoods. Canadian border agents also assisted with the investigation, discovering vehicles overseas.

As you can see, a break-in or robbery can be incredibly costly. This is why a focus on home security technology is so important. Criminals who break into properties in an attempt to steal property can cause damage, chaos and loss. In order to protect your property from these criminals, you’ll need to ensure that you have proper home security technology measures in place.

Protecting your Home from Break-ins with Home Security Technology

One of the best ways to protect your property and your belongings is to install a monitored home security system. Unlike a local alarm system, a monitored alarm system ensures that your home is watched over 24-hours a day by the trained staff at the central monitoring station. In the event of a break-in attempt, the central staff quickly react to the situation and inform the homeowner of what is going on so that the appropriate actions can be taken. Depending on your agreement with the monitoring company, the central station can even contact the authorities directly, making sure that police arrive on the scene quickly. This increases the level of home security at the property a great deal.

Video surveillance cameras make an excellent addition to a monitored home security system. Criminals understand the power of video surveillance footage. They know that it can be used to identify, arrest and even sentence them in connection with their crimes. Criminals do not want to be caught at the scene of a crime, but home security cameras ensure that this is exactly what happens. Video footage can place an individual at the scene and determine exactly what role he or she had in the crime.

Of course, properly installing these home security tools is critical. Failure to position and install home security technology properly can result in serious damage, loss and even injury. That’s why SafeTech Alarm Systems always offers a free risk assessment service. We want to be sure that you receive the best home security advice available and that the home security tools that you choose to have installed are the right ones for your home.

We also offer a free alarm installation. You can receive a high-quality DSC 1616 Kit for FREE with a 36-month alarm monitoring service agreement. You pay ONLY the monthly monitoring fee and receive the security of a fully-monitored and installed alarm system. Contact us today for more information.

Photoelectric Smoke Detectors

There are two major different types of smoke detectors: Ionization smoke detectors and photoelectric smoke detectors. Understanding the difference between the two is important. While it is dangerous to not have a smoke detector installed at your home or business, it could be even riskier to have a bad smoke detector installed and assume that you do not need to worry about fires.

Instead of wondering why your smoke detector did not respond or responded too late after a devastating fire, you might want to spend more time researching and choosing a more effective and reliable smoke detector.

There are two basic types of smoke detectors: ionization smoke detectors and photoelectric smoke detector. These alarms behave very differently. In real-world fatal fire cases, the differences could mean life or death. So, knowing the difference could very well save your life, as well as your property.

How Ionization Smoke Detectors Work Compared to Photoelectric Smoke Detector

An ionization smoke detector uses a source of ionizing radiation and a current detector to detect smoke. Smoke particles will cause a drop of the current in the smoke detector and when the electric circuit in the detector detects the drop of current it sounds the alarm. This is different from photoelectric smoke detector.

How Photoelectric Smoke Detector Works

Photoelectric smoke detector (or optical detector) uses a source of light and a light-sensitive electronic sensor to detect smoke. When smoke particles enter the smoke detector, they scatter some of the light from the light source onto the light-sensitive detector; and when there’s enough light hitting the light detector, the photoelectric sensor initiates the alarm.

Key Difference Between Ionization & Photoelectric Smoke Detectors – Minutes that Matter

Tests have shown that ionization alarms typically respond about 30 to 90 seconds faster to flaming fires, while photoelectric smoke detector responds an average of 30 to 40 minutes faster to smoldering fires. Studies indicate that a vast majority of residential fire fatalities result from smoke inhalation, not from the actual flames; and more than half of fire fatalities occur at night while we sleep.

Better sensitivity to earlier stages of fire means earlier detection of fatal fires, more time to escape or call 911, and faster response by emergency crews; while delayed warning can lead to greater loss of life in a burning structure. Delayed detection is especially catastrophic at night, when we are sleeping.

Because of their faster response time, The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) has urged people to change to photoelectric smoke detectors.

Apartment Security is Important

Despite what many people think, condominiums and apartments are frequent targets for criminals. This is why apartment security is so critical.

Toronto Police are currently searching for two men who are suspected of breaking into a condominium in the Yonge St. and Church St. area. The men allegedly broke into the condo during the night while the residents were sleeping. They stole a set of car keys from the unit, entered the building’s underground parking garage and then used the keys to steal the residents’ car.

Video footage of the men was captured by the building’s security cameras and police have released the images in hope that someone will be able to identify the two men.

This break-in shows how easy it can be to break into and steal from a condominium unit. It also shows why apartment security is so important.

Many people believe that living in an apartment building or condominium means that you don’t have to worry about security. Unfortunately, this isn’t true. Apartment security is very important. Condominiums and apartments of all sizes are often targeted by criminals. To make matters worse, since many people living in apartments and condos don’t dedicate enough resources to security, once a criminal accesses a building, the criminal knows that it will be quite easy to break into and rob many different units.

Breaking and entering and motor vehicle theft are two of the most common police-reported offences in Canada. Every year, there is an average of about one break-in every three minutes in Canada and there is an average of one motor vehicle theft every seven minutes. These statistics show how important crime prevention is.

Apartment Security: Preventing Crime in Apartments & Condominiums

The key to preventing property crime is being prepared and having effective security measures installed. Here are some crucial apartment security tips from our loss prevention experts that will help you prevent apartment and condominium crime.

Change your locks

When you move into a new apartment or condominium unit, have your locks changed. You have no idea how many people may have copies of your keys and, therefore, complete access to your apartment. Talk to your landlord or building management about having the locks changed as soon as you move into the building.

Always lock windows and doors

Keeping everything locked is important for apartment security. Always make sure that you securely lock your doors and windows, especially when you’re not at home. You may think that your condo is safe and that you don’t need to worry about locking it up, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Criminals frequently use unlocked doors and windows to gain access to a property.

Securing windows is especially and important apartment security tip for people who live on lower floors or who have balconies. Criminals often take advantage of these situations to enter units through the window. To prevent this, consider installing a physical security tool such as window bars, if building management permits doing so. If your building does not currently allow such physical protection, get together with other residents and request that the rules be changed to protect those living in the building.

Make sure no one follows you in

As mentioned earlier, once a criminal gains access to a building, he or she is free to scout the building and potentially break into several units. When you’re entering your building, be careful and make sure that no one sneaks in behind you before the door can lock. This is true for the parking garage as well. Apartment security begins by being diligent.

If you have an alarm system, use it!

Some condominium and apartment units come with alarm systems installed. If your unit has one, be sure to use it. Alarm systems drastically reduce crime. Make sure that you speak with your building’s management in order to figure out how to use the system properly and for information on what you should do if it isn’t functioning correctly.

If you don’t have an alarm system, you should get one.

As mentioned, alarm systems are crucial in the fight against crime and for apartment security. If your unit doesn’t have an alarm system, you should seriously consider getting one. We recognize that it may be difficult (or even impossible) to install a wired system in an apartment or condo, but a wireless alarm system is easy to install, can protect you against other hazards such as flood and fire and an effective way to keep you and your family safe. Wireless systems require no drilling making them perfect for condominiums and apartments and a big part of an apartment security plan. Plus, they are easy to relocate so you can take them with you to your next home if you decide to move!

Our dedicated security professionals and loss prevention experts can help you find the right apartment security tools for your particular needs. Contact us today for more information on apartment and condominium security and for details on how security technology can keep you safe.

Using a Jewellery Safe

Jewellery is a common target for criminals, therefore a jewellery safe is important. Jewellery is frequently stolen because it’s often very valuable, small enough to carry out of a residence with ease and difficult to trace. After cash, jewellery and precious metals are the most common targets for criminals. Police estimate that jewellery accounts for as much as 70 percent of all stolen property.

In 2012, $1,884,197,755 of jewellery was stolen in the United States. To make matters worse, only 4% of this jewellery was ever recovered. This is because jewellery can easily be sold at pawn shops or on the black market. For these reasons, jewellery is frequently stolen by criminals and, therefore, it’s important that you take steps to protect your jewellery and keep it safe and secure inside your home. A jewellery safe is a great solution.

Protecting Jewellery in Your Home with a Jewellery Safe & Other Tools

If you’re not using a jewellery safe, you can still take steps to protect your valuables. Jewellery and other valuables should never be left out in the open where criminals can easily see them. If a criminal can look through your window and see your diamond necklace sitting on your nightstand or your gold watch placed on your coffee table, this greatly increases the likelihood of a break-in. Store your jewellery where it can’t easily be spotted.

If a criminal breaks into your home, he or she will almost immediately begin looking for your jewellery. Leaving it out in the open (or in a common location that is easy to access, such as a jewellery box) will make it much more likely that it will be stolen.

A great place to store jewellery and other valuables is inside a jewellery safe. However, the type of safe that you purchase and the location of the safe are both very important.

You’ll need to purchase and use a jewellery safe that can’t easily be tampered with. You’ll also want a jewellery safe that is large and heavy enough that a criminal can’t simply pick it up and carry it out of your home. For this reason, the best safes are both heavy and bolted to the floor or encased in concrete. You want to put as much resistance between the criminal and your valuables as possible. The more difficult it is for someone to break into or move your jewellery safe, the more secure your jewellery will be.

When it comes to installing your jewellery safe, avoid placing it in the master bedroom. Criminals almost always go through the master bedroom looking for items like jewellery, since they know that this is where most people keep their valuables. If you locate the jewellery safe in your bedroom, you will increase the likelihood of it being successfully broken into because the thief will have more time to tamper with it. If your home already has a monitored alarm system, a professional thief will be in and out of it in about 5 Minutes, if he has to spend most of his time trying to find your jewellery safe and valuables, it is less likely he will be leaving with them. Instead, consider installing your jewellery safe in the basement, bolt it down to the cement floor and put a plain box over it. That should do the trick.

Business Security Prevents Theft and Vandalism

Business security is always important. A series of violent robberies took place in the Greater Toronto Area this summer that showed exactly why. Between July 22 and August 13, five banks were robbed by a group of violent criminals. Four of the crimes occurred in Toronto and one took place in Markham. Here are a few business security needs.

To date, nine people have been charged in connection with the robberies. Among the nine charged were four youths, including a 14-year-old. In the robberies, the alleged criminals targeted banks. They jumped over counters, threatened customers and bank staff with physical violence and demanded cash. An investigation into the crimes is ongoing.

While banks are frequent targets of robbers, just about any business can be looked at as a potential target. In order to protect your business, secure your valuables and keep your staff and customers safe, you need to ensure that your business security system and the business security tools that you have installed are effective, up-to-date and adequate for your situation.

Business security involves correctly identifying the potential risk to your business and implementing a solution to mitigate that risk.

Business Security Needs

First, look at where your current business security set-up is weak and where you may be exposed to loss. Then focus on restricting or preventing access to sensitive equipment or stock by improving barriers to entry.

Second, think about surveillance when you are open and closed, who has access and to what areas.

Third, think about how you will be notified and if and when there is a problem and how others also will be made aware of the business security breach.

Only by fully analyzing your business security situation and by understanding the advantages of different types of security tools, equipment and software, will you be able to create a sound solution. Here are some business security needs and tips on preparing a good plan.

Having a Good Business Security Plan

For example, a good plan will often include much of the following:

• Good name brand locks on all exterior doors, stock room doors, IT room doors, etc. The locking mechanism is encased in steal and the door frame is reinforced in steel. • All accessible ground floor windows have a layer of 12 mm transparent film or contain tubular channel steel window bars. Vulnerable doors are additionally secured with an expandable/retractable security gate. • 24/7 monitored alarm system that ensures that unlawful entry is detected and you are notified by phone and email. • Loud siren and clearly visible red strobe light that will draw attention to your place if it is ever compromised. • Properly positioned video surveillance cameras that capture everything that takes place on your property and that can be easily accessible remotely over the internet. • An access control system that both prevents unauthorized entry and records permitted access to sensitive areas within your business. • Article surveillance antennas that detect theft and alert store keepers of potential merchandise not paid for. • Post a uniformed security guard onsite or set up mobile patrol visits of your facility when warranted.

The loss prevention professionals at SafeTech Alarm Systems understand business security and what it takes to keep business properties safe. We can perform a full risk assessment on your commercial property and work with you to suggest effective and convenient business security needs that will keep your business secure.

Fire Monitoring Offers Superior Safety & Protection

Fire monitoring is an excellent way to keep your home, your belongings and your loved ones safe. When you have your home equipped with a fire monitoring system, you are ensuring that your property will be watched by a central monitoring station 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This provides superior protection, especially when you compare this situation to a home that does not have a fire monitoring service installed.

The Benefits of Fire Monitoring

A fire can break out without warning. It can also spread incredibly quickly. A fire can take place at any time in just about any location in or around your home. They are unpredictable. Fires cause a great deal of damage and even death in a very, very short period of time. Since all of this is true, it’s vital that all fires are responded to as quickly as possible. A fire monitoring system ensures that, if a fire breaks out in your home, it will be noticed almost immediately and the appropriate action will be taken.

Compare this to a home that does not have a monitoring service. In this situation, if a fire breaks out, an audible alarm will sound. If there is no one around to hear that alarm (or if people are at home but they cannot hear or react to the alarm) the fire will continue to burn. This can cause catastrophic damage and even potentially be deadly. If no one is around to react to the alarm, nothing can be done about the fire until someone passing by notices it. By the time a fire is large enough that it is noticed by those outside the home, it will likely have caused a great deal of damage.

Fire monitoring ensures that a fire does not burn unnoticed. When the central fire monitoring station receives notice that a fire has been detected at a property, the station contacts the home owner right away. This makes sure that the situation can be acted upon quickly. Depending on where you live or the directions that you provide to the central station, the station may even be able to contact the fire department directly. This drastically cuts down the time that a fire will burn, reducing loss.

Fire monitoring is incredibly important. Fires are very dangerous and, when dealing with a fire, every second counts. Trust fire monitoring to keep your home and your family safe.

Smart Home Monitoring: How it can Help You

You may have heard of smart home monitoring system before, but are you aware of exactly what it is and the number of ways that it can help you protect your home? Smart home monitoring is an incredibly powerful security tool and one that can also help make your life easier. One of the greatest benefits of smart home monitoring system is that it allows you to always know what is going on in your home, no matter where you are. If you are at work, on vacation or anywhere else, you can always know exactly what is happening at your home in real time. This provides incredible peace of mind.

For example, using a computer, smart phone or tablet, you can watch your home security cameras from anywhere with an Internet connection. This allows you to know that your children are home safe or that your housekeeper has arrived and it lets you know that your property remains safe and secure. Smart home monitoring system gives you a simple and convenient way to keep track of everything in your home.

You can even receive immediate alerts on your phone or by email should anything go wrong. This way, if anyone breaks into your home, if there is a fire or flood or if any other trouble situation occurs, you will be informed right away and you can take appropriate action. These alerts can also be used to send you a notification for a number in a number of other situations as well. For example, you can be notified when your children return home from school. This saves you worry and hassle.

Get in Control with Smart Home Monitoring System

A smart home monitoring system puts you in control. Not only can you watch video and receive alerts with a smart home monitoring system, but you can also remotely control the entire system from nearly any Internet-connected device.

Smart home monitoring gives you the ability to control your alarm system, you security cameras, your home lighting, your home temperature and more from your laptop, tablet or phone. If you leave for work in the morning and realize that you forgot to set the alarm, don’t worry. You can quickly set it from your computer when you arrive at the office. If you want to make sure that your home is a few degrees cooler before you get home on a hot day, you can set the temperature from your phone so that your home is cool and comfortable when you arrive.

As you can see, a smart home monitoring system is incredibly powerful. It can improve your life, keep your property safe and provide you with incredible peace of mind.

Keep Your Jewellery Safe

Jewellery is a common target for criminals. This is because it’s often very valuable, small enough to carry out of a residence with ease and difficult to trace. After cash, jewellery and precious metals are the most common targets for criminals. Police estimate that jewellery accounts for as much as 70 percent of all stolen property. In 2012, $1,884,197,755 of jewellery was stolen in the United States. To make matters worse, only 4% of this jewellery was ever recovered. This is because jewellery can easily be sold at pawn shops or on the black market. For these reasons, jewellery is frequently stolen by criminals and, therefore, it’s important that you take steps to protect jewellery and keep it safe and secure inside your home.

Protect Jewellery in Your Home

Jewellery and other valuables should never be left out in the open where criminals can easily see them. If a criminal can look through your window and see your diamond necklace sitting on your nightstand or your gold watch placed on your coffee table, this greatly increases the likelihood of a break-in. Store your jewellery where it can’t easily be spotted. If a criminal breaks into your home, he or she will almost immediately begin looking for your jewellery. Leaving it out in the open (or in a common location that is easy to access, such as a jewellery box) will make it much more likely that it will be stolen.

A great place to protect jewellery and other valuables is inside a safe. However, the type of safe that you purchase and the location of the safe are both very important.

You’ll need to purchase and use a safe that can’t easily be tampered with. You’ll also want a safe that is large and heavy enough that a criminal can’t simply pick it up and carry it out of your home. For this reason, the best safes are both heavy and bolted to the floor or encased in concrete. You want to put as much resistance between the criminal and your valuables as possible. The more difficult it is for someone to break into or move your safe, the more protect jewellery will be.

When it comes to installing your safe, avoid placing it in the master bedroom. Criminals almost always go through the master bedroom looking for items like jewellery, since they know that this is where most people keep their valuables. If you locate the safe in your bedroom, you will increase the likelihood of it being successfully broken into because the thief will have more time to tamper with it. If your home already has a monitored alarm system, a professional thief will be in and out of it in about 5 Minutes, if he has to spend most of his time trying to find your safe and valuables, it is less likely he will be leaving with them. Instead, consider installing your safe in the basement, bolt it down to the cement floor and put a plain box over it. That should do the trick.