Security Sales Scams - Who's Knocking?

It's time to start being on the lookout for seasonal salesmen, in particular those going door-to-door attempting to sell alarm systems for your home.

These salesmen often utilize dishonest or shady methods, and, most importantly, are unauthorized to sell security systems. In fact, many of these seasonal companies are unlicensed or are temporarily employing unlicensed alarm salesmen and installers.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) calls these "Security System Scams"  and warns:

"During the spring and summer months, home security or alarm companies hire traveling sales agents to go door-to-door, making unsolicited "cold calls" on homeowners. In some cases, the salespeople use high-pressure or deceptive sales tactics to get potential customers to buy expensive, and sometimes substandard, systems or equipment they don't need."

In Louisiana, alarm companies and their employees are licensed and regulated through the Office of State Fire Marshal's Licensing Section. If someone knocks on your door wanting to sell you an alarm system, always ask to see their credentials. If they do not have a valid license issued through the Louisiana State Fire Marshal's Office (SFM), they are not licensed or authorized to sell alarm systems. This means they haven't been required to pass a criminal background check.

Unfortunately, unsuspecting Louisiana residents are hit with these scams every year. Already this year, residents in Covington and Tallulah have dealt with these door-to-door salesmen. In light of this, Louisiana State Fire Marshal, Butch Browning, recently sent out a warning through local news outlets concerning these scams. As Fire Marshal Browning says:

"An extremely important part of the licensing process includes criminal background checks on those who sell and install these systems as well as requiring these individuals to have the proper training to ensure competency … It's all about protecting the lives and property of our citizens and ensuring that convicted felons are not in homes and businesses.  Everyone we license will have a photo identification card issued by my office.  Just ask to see it to ensure they are licensed."

Always remember that the Fire Marshal's office licenses all alarm companies and their employees in Louisiana. If a person is not licensed and cannot show you proof of a license from the SFM, do not do business with them.

Alarm Center wants to keep our customers and neighbors safe by telling them what to look out for when a security salesman knocks on their door. These are actual tactics that our customers have observed and reported to us as being employed by these so-called "sales representatives":

• They will often say that they work for a security system manufacturer.
• They may state that they work for Alarm Center Security and knock on your door with no appointment.
• They may say they are there to "upgrade" your existing system.
• They may say they are only offering a certain number of "free" systems in your neighborhood.
• They may misrepresent that ACS is "going out of business".

You should always exercise caution when entrusting your family's security. ACS reminds not only our customers, but everyone, to ensure they are always dealing with a reputable alarm professional by taking the following steps:

• Ask for an ID badge, business card or literature with their company name.
• Ask for their State Alarm License Number. All ACS Security representatives have required state licenses.

Please remember, that Alarm Center Security will NEVER solicit or go door-to-door!

If you believe you have been a victim of these door-to-door scam sales, or are aware of them going on in your neighborhood, please contact us immediately at (225) 292-5276, or, if you are outside the Baton Rouge area, 1-800-972-5276. You can also email us at info@alarm.net today.

[Call Alarm Center Security today for a FREE quote on a security system for your home or business - 1-800-97-ALARM - or visit our website to see if you qualify for a $0 down installation - alarm.net]

Is Your Smoke Detector Making Your Family Vulnerable?

Fire. In the home, it is a danger more probable and destructive than any criminal burglarizing your residence. And, often, far more lethal.

According to the latest statistics by the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA), in 2011, there were 1,389,500 fires in the U.S. causing 3,005 civilian deaths, 17,500 civilian injuries, and $11.7 billion in property damage.

To break it down even further, the 2011 NFPA Fire Loss Clock calculates:

• A fire department responded to a fire every 23 seconds.

• One home structure fire was reported every 85 seconds.

• One civilian fire injury was reported every 30 minutes.

• One civilian fire death occurred every 2 hours and 55 minutes.

We all know that smoke detectors save lives – and they do -  but what if your smoke alarm isn't working? Do you know the last time you checked yours or changed its batteries?

The NFPA says that "almost all U.S. homes have at least one smoke alarm" but "62% of home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes without working smoke alarms".

Even more frightening, what if the old adage - that "smoke detectors save lives" - isn't quite as true as we've always been told?

Time to Upgrade That Smoke Detector

There are 2 types of smoke detectors, each utilizing a different technology (ionization and photoelectric detection), on the market right now. Manufacturers insist that both are safe and work equally well when it comes to saving lives.

However, NBC's Jeff Rossen recently investigated the findings of Texas A&M's Dr. Don Russell, an electrical engineering professor, and his research group, which found that the ionization smoke detectors, the most common smoke alarm used in 9 out of 10 homes, do not sense smoke as quickly or effectively as the photoelectric detectors.

On the Friday, March 22, 2013 episode of the Today show, Rossen presented Dr. Russell's research and provided evidence to back up his claims.

You can watch the video here, but the takeaway was this: the common ionization smoke detectors took 30 minutes to sound after smoke had begun filling the room and only after the fire had already started. The photoelectric smoke detector went off much sooner – at 17 minutes – when less smoke had filled the test room and the fire had yet to even ignite.

All evidence suggests it is safer to get a photoelectric smoke detector, or – as experts suggest – a dual detector, which includes both technologies, though these are more expensive and more difficult to find.

Your Children May Still Not Be Safe

So that covers it, right? Your family will be better protected by upgrading your smoke detector(s)? Well…maybe not.

A more detailed reporting of the issues with smoke alarms – continued on Sunday night's Dateline – found that, in addition to the average home smoke alarm not performing as effectively as once perceived, children, more often than not, do not hear smoke alarms when they are sleeping. Watch this video clip from Dateline's Sunday, March 24th segment:

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According to sleep researcher, Dr. Gary Smith, who was interviewed immediately after this clip:

Children spend more time in deep sleep than adults do and that's why it's harder for them to awaken in the case of an emergency.

It's frightening enough to know that your smoke alarm likely won't sound in enough time for you to safely get out of a burning house, but to know that – in addition – even if and when the alarm does sound, your children most likely will sleep right through it is terrifying.

Don't rely on just your smoke detectors. Have an escape plan that everyone is aware of and abide by - as Dr. Smith advises - the three P's:  Preparation – Planning – Practice. Your escape and fire drills should include time to get to and rouse sleeping children to safely evacuate them.

For more on creating an escape plan and practicing fire drills at home with your children, watch About.com's Plan a Home Fire Drill.

A Monitored Smoke Alarm Is the Answer

If even getting a photoelectric or dual smoke alarm possibly won't wake your children in enough time to get out of a burning house, what other alternatives are there to ensure the safety of your family if your house were to catch fire?

Having a smoke detector tied into your monitored alarm security system is probably the safest thing you can do for your home and your loved ones. To combat the danger of a house fire, heat detectors and carbon monoxide detectors can also be wired into your home security system. Here are just a few reasons that monitored smoke, heat and CO alarms are safer alternatives to a standard smoke detector:

• A standard home security system siren can be up to 100x as loud as a standard battery-operated smoke detector.
• Unlike stand-alone, battery-operated smoke detectors, a monitored alarm system's smoke detectors are wired together so that if smoke or fire is detected in one part of the house, the alarm will sound throughout the house. 
• The alarm company's monitoring station will phone you in the event an alarm sounds – another way to let you know something is amiss if you do not hear the smoke alarm and even if you're not at home.
• The fire department will be dispatched for you, whether or not you are home. If you are in the house at the time of the fire, you can focus all of your precious time and energy on getting your family and pets safely out of harm's way.
• With a monitored smoke alarm, you don't have to remember to check your device periodically and put fresh batteries in it yearly. If there is a problem with any part of your alarm system, you will be called and notified of the problem so it can be fixed before an emergency occurs.

Often, if a smoke alarm does not sound, for whatever reason, or the occupants do not hear it, emergency calls are not made until neighbors or passers-by see the smoke and flames billowing from your house. At that point, it is almost always too late to save those still inside.

Having a smoke/heat detector as part of your monitored home security system is the safest and most reliable fire protection you can have in your home. Though this will cost more than just grabbing a smoke detector off the shelf at your local store, such comprehensive protection is priceless; after all, you can't put a price on protecting those you love the most.

Alarm Center offers both smoke and heat detectors, as well as carbon monoxide detectors, for our customers to add onto their home security systems or purchase along with a monitored alarm system for their home or business. Contact us today to learn more about giving your loved ones their best protection against one of the most dangerous of home invaders – fire.

[Call Alarm Center Security today for a FREE quote on a security system for your home or business - 1-800-97-ALARM - or visit our website to see if you qualify for a $0 down installation - alarm.net]

False Alarms: Are You in the 97%?

False alarms have been a hot topic in local discussions lately, and much debate has gone into how to prevent them. According to local reports, as many as 97% of alarms that police responded to in 2011 were false.

In an effort to aid the community in this on-going struggle, while also saving our customers valuable time and money, the folks here at Alarm Center would like to share some information about false alarms, and tips about how to prevent them.

False alarms are often triggered when someone enters a location not realizing the alarm is set, or does so and forgets their access code. Yet, most people do not realize that other – seemingly simple – things can set an alarm off such as bugs, dirty motion sensors, and even pets.

According to the excellent brochure, Residential False Alarm Prevention, by FARA (False Alarm Reduction Association), the "Common Causes of False Alarms" are:

• Inadequate training of people allowed access to your security system (children, neighbors, cleaning personnel, real estate agents, guests, relatives, babysitters, service and delivery personnel, etc.).
• Weak system batteries.
• Open, unlocked or loose fitting doors and windows.
• Drafts from heaters and air conditioning systems that move plants, curtains, balloons, etc.
• Wandering pets.

A monitored security and alarm system is an investment in the safety of your home or business. By keeping some simple things in mind, you can increase the efficiency and efficacy of your security system and avoid costly false alarms.

First, make sure everyone in the home knows how to arm and disarm the alarm system. If you are a pet owner, motion sensors should be installed that will not detect the movement of pets up to a certain weight. If your pets joined your family after your alarm was originally installed, be sure to upgrade your motion sensors to a more pet-friendly model.

Remember, anything hanging from the ceiling or on the walls that can move or drift in an air draft can trigger your motion sensors and set off a false alarm.

Alarm Center does periodic testing of our customers' alarms, which helps prevent false alarms due to faulty equipment, low batteries, etc. Customers can, however, take preventative measures to stop false alarms due to non-equipment issues.

Businesses have more to worry about with false alarms, as they can be charged a fee (based on how many false alarms they have), as was discussed in a recent article in Baton Rouge's The Advocate, "Plan targets false alarms".

From the article:

[Baton Rouge Police Chief Dewayne] White is proposing a drastic hike in fines for those whose systems repeatedly send out false alarms over a 12-month period ... Currently, there is no fine until the sixth false alarm is reported and that fine is $10. 

White's proposal would allow for three free false alarms before imposing fines for each subsequent one, ranging from $25 for the fourth to $200 for the eleventh false alarm.

For this reason, it is imperative that business owners know and practice the best methods available to prevent false alarms. Another excellent brochure by FARA, False Alarm Prevention for Businesses states, under "Tips for Businesses":

Be sure all employees are thoroughly trained before attempting to use the alarm system. Hold monthly training sessions to ensure alarm users are aware of: any changes to the system; the importance of careful pre-arming checks; designated entry/exit doors; proper opening/closing procedures; correct pass codes and arming codes; and rehearse how to cancel accidental activations.

Read all 14 of these great tips here.

Learning how to prevent false alarms is not only essential for home and business owners for their own peace of mind, but helps the community at large by not wasting police resources on false alarms. According to The Advocate article:

Baton Rouge police responded to 22,347 burglar alarms at businesses and homes in 2011 — but only 670 them were real calls.

That's less than 3% of all alarm calls -- 97% of 2011's alarm calls were false alarms. As FARA wisely states:

Alarm companies and alarm users must be responsible for the use and maintenance of alarm systems to help ensure prompt police response when an emergency really does exist.

False alarms can be a nuisance for a homeowner and an actual financial burden for a business owner. Being proactive about preventing false alarms benefits everyone, and helps local police departments focus more of their attention on responding to crime in the area.

[Call Alarm Center Security today for a FREE quote on a security system for your home or business - 1-800-97-ALARM - or visit our website to see if you qualify for a $0 down installation - alarm.net]

How to Increase the Stability of a Deadbolt

A deadbolt strengthens a door because it bolts deep into a vertical post that forms the side of the door. Strengthen the lock with the following method:

How to Increase the Stability of a Deadbolt on Howcast

[Call Alarm Center Security today for a FREE quote on a security system for your home or business - 1-800-97-ALARM - or visit our website to see if you qualify for a $0 down installation - alarm.net]