This time of year in New England, small businesses are at special risk from thieves looking to cash in on the busy Christmas season. To be as safe as possible owners of these businesses can take special safety precautions, including the addition of alarms, and video surveillance and monitoring solutions.
Sadly, not everyone has peace on earth and goodwill to all in mind during the holiday season. A variety of crimes increase in frequency this time of year, especially shoplifting. This is a particular threat to small business owners of all sorts — particularly seasonal businesses who have extra merchandise, personnel and cash on hand.
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Five Things Businesses Can Learn From Championship Football Teams
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamWith Sunday’s “Big Game” now history, we can draw some lessons to help us in everyday business. Perhaps the most important thing we can derive from the game is the importance of fielding great defense/security to protect our assets (or goal line, as the case may be).
Here are a few things that great football teams and great security teams have in common:
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Don’t Take Business Security for Granted
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamFor small to medium business owners/operators who may think investing in security is unnecessary, the reality is burglars are four times more likely to strike a business than a home, according to Forbes.
All it takes is one burglary, cyber-attack or act of vandalism to seriously disrupt your operations. Worse, such an attack can shutter your business permanently.
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Chimney Fires: Preventable Danger in New England
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamChimney fires are dangerous and potentially devastating, particularly in the winter season here in New England. Chimney blazes destroyed 100 homes in the U.S. in 2016, according to Channel 22 News in Chicopee. A recent spate of chimney fires in western Massachusetts prompted another warning article.
The latter story notes how one fire broke out after the home’s chimney tiles cracked — and the chimney block cracked with them, which allowed the fire to enter the home. On New Year’s Day, firefighters from Newbury, Massachusetts, successfully responded to a blaze, which they contained in the affected home’s porch.
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Predictions for 2019: Why Cybersecurity Protects Physical Security
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamGiven recent trends in information technology and crime, we have two major predictions about security in 2019:
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10 Security Lessons from “Home Alone”
/by American Alarm Blogging Team“Home Alone” is an all-time classic holiday movie. Young Kevin McCallister cleverly outsmarts two house burglars in a hilarious Christmas comedy. In addition to the slapstick laughs, Kevin employs non-traditional security measures to protect his house against the would-be burglars. While we don’t recommend icing your doorsteps and swinging paint cans from the top of your stairs, there are some lessons to be learned about proper home security.
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Holiday Season Thieves Threaten Small Businesses
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamThis time of year in New England, small businesses are at special risk from thieves looking to cash in on the busy Christmas season. To be as safe as possible owners of these businesses can take special safety precautions, including the addition of alarms, and video surveillance and monitoring solutions.
Sadly, not everyone has peace on earth and goodwill to all in mind during the holiday season. A variety of crimes increase in frequency this time of year, especially shoplifting. This is a particular threat to small business owners of all sorts — particularly seasonal businesses who have extra merchandise, personnel and cash on hand.
Read more →Don’t Let Package Thieves Steal Your Holiday Cheer
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamRoughly 30 percent of Americans are victims of package theft according to ABC. With Cyber Monday sales estimated to have hit a whopping $8 billion, the opportunities for grab-and-go package thefts are just going to get worse. Ultimately, the threat of such thieves could put a dent into e-commerce itself, says an Inc. article. Read more →
Carbon Monoxide: Winter’s Silent Killer
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamThis colorless and odorless gas escapes from faulty furnaces, as well as portable generators, stoves, lanterns, gas ranges and other sources. When the fumes enter an area lacking adequate ventilation, they become lethally dangerous. In fact, it’s the biggest cause of poisoning in the U.S. according to Mass.gov .
50,000 victims of carbon monoxide poisoning head to the emergency room annually, and out of those 430 never make it home. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control notes that carbon monoxide poisonings spike in December and January — due in part to power outages caused by winter weather, which lead homeowners to use alternative power sources. Read more →
Stay Merry this Thanksgiving by Taking Fire Precautions
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamThe only thing worse than a burnt turkey on Thanksgiving is being forced to evacuate your home because of a fire. Thanksgiving Day is the most common day for kitchen fires in New England and across the nation, as pointed out by NECN, and cooking accidents are the leading cause (77 percent) of Thanksgiving house fires nationally, according to the U.S. Fire Administration.
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Protecting the New England Holiday Retail Industry
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamAs the holiday retail season approaches, retailers and supermarket owners of all sizes in New England must defend themselves against theft. As a retailer, there are many steps you can take, including adding electronic surveillance systems throughout your store.
While the holiday season provides 34 percent of annual retail sales, it also accounts for 37 percent of yearly shrinkage, as a Forbes article notes. The biggest contributors to shrinkage are shoplifting and employee theft. Read more →