How to Keep your Business Secure and Prevent Employee Theft

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

Preventing employee theft used to only involve stopping a worker from walking out with your goods or helping himself to the money in the cash register. Take, for example, a recent incident at the Home Depot in Watertown, Mass., as reported in the Watertown Patch.

Employee Theft

Home Depot security officers, who suspected an employee of stealing, caught him allegedly grabbing a $100 bill from the register and putting it in his apron. After he was arrested, the suspect admitted to taking approximately $5,000 in cash over five or six weeks.

While this type of theft still clearly occurs, times have changed, and employees have turned to more sophisticated ways to steal everything from merchandise to data from their employers.

Here are a few old school and cutting-edge ways to prevent your employees from stealing from your business;

Read more →

Business Security: Common Ploys Used by Shoplifters

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

The fact is that every year businesses lose tens of billions of dollars to shoplifting, and if you’re retailer you’re all too well aware of that painful fact.

Ploys used by ShoplifersFor example, just recently police in Dedham, Mass. were called to a local supermarket by the store’s loss prevention employee who witnessed a woman putting items in her purse and in her cart. Then she tried to leave the store without paying for the merchandise.

Although it’s not possible for you to completely do away with shoplifting, there are ways to prevent shoplifters from taking advantage of a five-finger discount. Read more →

Top 5 Ways To Avoid False Alarms

/1 Comment/by American Alarm Blogging Team

False alarms are the bane of the security system industry. Not only do false alarms eat up police and fire resources, but they can also mean significant municipal fines for home and business owners who find themselves dealing with fire and burglar alarm systems that are frequently tripped by accident.

Let’s take a look at the top five ways you can avoid a false alarm at home or at work.

1) Education. It’s critical to ensure that everyone in your home, or every employee at your place of business, is fully trained in how to arm, disarm, and otherwise operate your security and fire systems. The most common type of false alarm occurs when someone forgets that the system is armed when he enters a building, or can’t remember his access code. It’s also important that everyone involved knows how to contact the alarm system provider, if necessary, in order to deal with a malfunctioning system.

2) Repairs and Maintenance. A broken window sensor, an old smoke detector, a ragged wire attached to a door sensor – these are all easy-to-repair items that can be responsible for triggering a false alarm at the central monitoring station if they’re not fixed. If you don’t feel like you have the expertise required to take care of a suspected problem, then contact your installer as soon as possible so that a technician can be dispatched and the issue corrected. Keeping smoke detectors and motion sensors clean from dust and other gunk is also critical.

3) Testing. Does your home security system provider offer timer testing to ensure that communication between the central monitoring facility and your location is working properly? Has your fire alarm system been properly tested, on schedule, according to local and national regulations? Simple tests performed on a regular basis can help identify any potential problems with equipment before they trigger false alarms.

4) Plan for Pets.  It happens on a regular basis: a homeowner has an alarm system installed, and then later on brings a new dog or cat home only to have the animal trip the motion sensors and cause a false alarm. Make sure to upgrade your motion sensors to pet-friendly units so you can avoid having this happen to you.

5) Have More Than One Method For Deactivating The System. Did your home security system come with a remote control? Do you know where it is? Does your business alarm system offer a mobile app? Have you installed it and been shown how to use it? Take advantage of your system’s multiple access points and use them as fallbacks should you, a family member, or an employee have trouble deactivating a false alarm from the primary keypad.

Owning a Guard Dog Doesn’t Mean You Don’t Need a Security System

/2 Comments/by American Alarm Blogging Team

It’s common that one hears when discussing burglar alarm systems at a party or in a group of friends: Why do I need an alarm when I already have a dog?

While it is true that a guard dog does offer a certain degree of protection against thieves for a home or business, it’s far from the most effective method of keeping one’s family and property safe. In fact, guard dogs should be considered merely one facet of a comprehensive security strategy.

Guard dogs are prized due to their ability to intimidate potential intruders with loud barking and snarling – clear indications to “stay away” that some people feel will deter even the most professional of thieves and send them toward a softer target. Those in the home security system business, however, are well aware of the shortcomings of relying exclusively on guard dogs.

Dogs can be distracted in a number of ways – loud sounds, food, other animals – and that means that they can have their attention pulled away long enough for someone to break into your property. Check out this funny ad that emphasizes this point.

It’s also possible, in worst case scenarios, for dogs to be poisoned by food that has been laced with something toxic, or to even be attacked when they surprise individuals who are armed and intent on robbing your home or business. There’s also the difficulty of keeping dogs fed and sheltered while you’re away on vacation, which is one of the most common times for a home to be hit by burglars.

These caveats make it clear that while guard dogs do offer a real benefit when it comes to protecting property, they must be combined with a properly-installed business alarm system or home alarm system in order to provide total peace of mind.

Knowing that if a burglar gets past your guard dog he’ll still have to deal with the unblinking eye of your security system. That means not having to worry about whether your faithful animal has been outsmarted or harmed in the middle of the night.

It also means that when you’re away you can enjoy far greater protection for your home or business, including remote monitoring of your system’s status and the ability to communicate with you almost instantly via a text message or phone call in the event of a break-in – something that simply isn’t possible when relying on a guard dog.

Licensed Security Specialists vs. National Utility Security Divisions – A Comparison

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

Going with the “big guys” when it comes to home security systems and business burglar alarm systems definitely has a certain appeal.

After all, having the name of a major utility on the warning label affixed to your front door, alerting potential thieves that you have an alarm installed, can sometimes add peace of mind to the equation. The real question is: What trade-offs are associated with choosing an alarm provider that doesn’t make security its number one business focus?

Mega-utilities are definitely prepared to cover the basics when it comes to offering home and business security packages. The deep pockets of nationwide companies ensure a reasonable investment in technology and service, similar to what you’d receive from your cable or mobile phone provider. Pricing is also usually competitive. These large companies offer several different packages that are targeted to the needs of the average family or organization. Read more →

Untested Alarm System Costs Siskiyou County $3 Million

/2 Comments/by American Alarm Blogging Team

Is your burglar alarm system programmed with a communication timer test?

Just ask officials at the Siskiyou County Courthouse in California, who were shocked to discover that the failure of the security system protecting $3 million in gold resulted in a clean getaway for the thieves who simply smashed a hole in the glass case protecting the historical artifacts and grabbed everything they could.

The gold nuggets had been a theft target once before in 1979, when the silent alarm functioned as intended and the would-be marauders were apprehended roughly a block away from the courthouse with the illicit wares in their possession. This time, however, the vibration alarm that was meant to protect the irreplaceable gold nuggets – some of which date back to the town’s founding – did not respond at all. A town spokesperson stated that the system had been properly armed, and that the county was working with its security provider to get to the bottom of the glitch.

Perhaps the most telling aspect of the sad story surrounding the Siskiyou gold is a footnote at the bottom of the article that mentions an annual security alarm test schedule. According to the Courthouse, the last test occurred in August of 2011, nearly seven months before the February theft.

There is an important lesson that business and property owners can learn from the tragic tale of the Siskiyou theft, and that is that it’s not enough to rely on a single alarm system test every 12 months. So much can happen within a year’s time, especially in a heavily-trafficked space such as a courthouse or a retail space, that it really becomes necessary to perform an alarm system test at least once per quarter, if not once per month.

American Alarm programs a timer test with its business security systems that can send communications weekly or daily, depending on the type of signals being monitored. If our central station operators do not receive a signal, we contact the owner immediately to determine the cause of the missed communication, and find a solution to the issue.

It costs nothing to make sure that your alarm system is functioning up to spec – what’s  the price tag of not knowing? In the case of Siskiyou County, the figure would seem to be $3 million.

Mobile Security System Apps Offer Remote Peace of Mind

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

It’s become a common refrain among smartphone users: “There’s an app for that.”

Modern home and business security systems are at the forefront of mobile app accessibility, enabling individuals to monitor the statuses of those systems from a distance as well as interact with their alarm systems should the need arise. Thanks to mobile app technology such as the Z-Wave digital monitoring system offered by American Alarm, there are a long list of available features that let individuals stay in touch with their security systems as long as they have cell signals.

Read more →

Business Security Tips to Prevent Robbery at Your Place of Work

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

Robbery, as other crimes against business, is most often a crime of opportunity. But, according to the Boston Police Department, there are extra precautions you can take to keep the bad guys at bay.

To prevent a robbery:

  • Don’t put any signs or posters on your front doors and windows to ensure you have good two-way visibility. That way your employees can see any people who are acting suspiciously outside and passers-by can see what’s going on inside;
  • Be sure the outside of your business is well lit at night;
  • Use video surveillance and post a sign letting people know you use it. Use cameras and/or mirrors so you can observe your entire store;
  • Greet everyone who enters your business. Pay close attention to people pretending to be customers. These individuals will be loitering or glancing around your store while they pretend to shop or browse through magazines;
  • If you see something suspicious report it to the police. Your local police department may have knowledge of other robberies that are similar to what you’re reporting;
  • Be sure to lock your side and back doors. If it’s possible, ask your employees to use the main entrance;
  • Place markers at the entrance that employees can use to help determine the height of a robber as he leaves;
  • Make bank deposits as often as possible, but at least once a day.


The Boston Police Department also has some tips to keep you safe during a robbery:

  • Try to stay calm;
  • Don’t make any sudden movements to upset the robber;
  • Do as exactly what the robber tells you to do. Don’t resist;
  • Try to get a good look at the robber so that you can describe him to police later;
  • Notice the direction the robber traveled when he left your store;
  • If you can do it without putting yourself in danger, try and get a description of the robber’s vehicle.


After the robbery:

  • Call the police immediately after the robbery, even if you’ve already activated your alarm;
  • Go outside when the police arrive so they’ll know the robber has left and you’re safe;
  • Don’t touch anything that the robber may have touched so police can identify his fingerprints;
  • Ask any witnesses to stay or get their names and telephone numbers so police can contact them;
  • Don’t tell anyone except the police how much money was taken.

Remember, no business is too small for a business security system. Today, a good business security system should include a business video surveillance system, which can send out digital alerts to automatically notify the authorities as soon as suspicious behavior is detected in or around your business. And that means police officers and private security guards are often able to catch those bad guys before they do any damage.

In the words of Ben Franklin, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

Break-ins Pile Up In Newton and Carlisle

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

Two Massachusetts municipalities have suffered through a recent spike in break-ins and robberies – and thieves have made off with items ranging from laptops and iPods all the way up to professional business equipment. Even more worrisome are cases where break-ins are reported but no theft has occurred, causing residents to fear the true intentions of those involved.

The incidents, which have been piling up in Newton and Carlisle, should remind homeowners and business proprietors of the importance of protecting their properties – and families – from intrusions by installing high quality burglar alarm systems that can serve as deterrents to potential thieves. Read more →

Home Security Tips: How to Protect Yourself from Home Invasions

/2 Comments/by American Alarm Blogging Team

Everyone should feel safe in his own home. Unfortunately that’s not always the case. All you have to do is watch the news for proof that home invasions are on the rise in New England.

From Windham, New Hampshire to Newton, Massachusetts to Brockton, Massachusetts to Providence, Rhode Island there isn’t a community that hasn’t been affected. Read more →