We all want to make sure that our homes are protected and safe while we are away for the day or for any extended period of time. There is no way to know for sure if something is going to happen while we are gone. The only thing that we can do is prepared for out homes to stay safe while we are not there. There are a few things that we can do in order to provide safety for our homes.
One way is to tell our neighbors that we trust about not being home. It is very important that we only tell the neighbors that we have trust in and that we know about being gone. We have to be confident enough that they will look out for our home and take care of it while we are away. Tell them to check on the pets and plants while you are gone as well. This will make it look like someone is their taking care of things. They can also gather the mail and the newspaper everyday as well. This will keep potential prey thinking someone is home.
You can also tell the local police department if you are going away for an extended period of time. Tell them the dates that you will be gone and ask them to patrol the home every once in a while. This is good especially if you live in a secured area.
You always want to make sure that the doors and the windows are always locked when you leave to go anywhere. Do not make it easy for an intruder to get inside your home. Keep things secure and well protected with good quality locks that will be tough for anyone to pass by.
You will also want to make sure that everything is secure inside the home too. If you are just leaving for the day, make sure that lights are off and anything electrical if turned off as well. If you are leaving for a few days, you may want to turn the water main off in the home as well as the hot water heater too. This will protect your home from an unexpected breaks or leaks that can occur at any given time. You do not want to come home to the surprise of having a flood in your home.
Check all doors in your house that lead to the outside or into a garage. These should be metal or solid wood and at least 1.75” thick. Be sure door frames are secure and cannot be taken apart easily. Make sure doors fit into frames without gaps. Even with strong locks, good burglars can get into your house if your doors or doorframes are weak.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
How to keep your home safe when you are away
Monday, July 20, 2009
Securing The Safety of Your Home With The Ancient Art of Feng Shui
I was elated to discover this detached house with a big garden that was available for rental in a quiet suburb when I was first transferred to another town to work as an engineer.
It was located at a cul de sac, the house being the last house in the row. I thought it was perfect..quiet, newly constructed and with a good neighbor who was a banker.
Without reservation, I rented the house and my family shifted in a week later.
3 months later, I almost lost my life. I was travelling as a passenger in a friend's car when someone lost control of his car, and crashed into the Honda car I was travelling in, killing the front seating passenger. I was at the back and had a smashed face, and was warded in the hospital and had to stay another month for medical treatment.
But how is this related to the house I was staying in then?
In fact, I was never a fan of feng shui, the ancient chinese art of geomancy.
When I was warded in the hospital, my neighbor who was a banker and also a chinese scholar, visited me and began to spill the beans.
The house where I was staying was facing bad "chi" or an aura of bad atmosphere was emancing from the house that was facing directly opposite my house. The occupant of that house was a monk who works as a "chanter" who performs the chanting ceremony over the dead. This is a chinese practise for those who have died, the chanting being akin to prayer to make the way easier for the dead spirits to depart.
According to my neigbor, every day when this monk returns home, he brings along the bad "chi" from the dead, and which then emants out towards the direction of my house.
A shiver went down my spine when I heard this news.
In my imagination, I could almost see evil spirits following this monk and congregating at his home before fanning out in the direction of my house.
But what about my neighbor? How did he protect himself against this bad influence of "chi'?
"I hang out a mirror," this chinese scholar said. This mirror when hung outside reflects and deflects the bad chi and mystically protects the inhibitants from ill effects and ward off evil. This is the ancient art of feng shui at work", he added.
Three months after the accident I recovered to leave the hospital, I was not ready to remain a day longer in that rented house. I did not hang out a mirror. I had enough and the solution was to just shifted house. We moved out!
I met my banker neighbor friend 5 years down the road. I asked how he was. " I have never been better," he replied, " and my mirror has always done its job".
Yes, we can protect our house, ourselves and belongings with the most sophisticated security alarm systems. But apart from this, where we choose to believe in the anciet art of feng shui, we need a simple mirror to be hung outside our house to ward off bad "chi" and evil.Are you a believer of the ancient chinese art of feng shui?
Safeguarding Your Personal Information From Identity Thieves
Labels: credit card, frauds, ID, identity theft, identity theft frauds, mail, personal information, protecting, protection, scams, schemes, Social SecurityAn identity thief doesn't just steal your credit card and personal information to start buying crazily in your name. He gets new cards, opens new loans, and leaves a long trail of unpaid bills in your name. He even uses your identity to commit acts of terrorism or other crimes. What are you to do?
Identity theft occurs more frequently than you would like to believe - and is committed frequently by someone you know. This is what happened to Linda Foley, a magazine writer, who learned that her own employer had swiped her identity to open cell phone and credit card accounts. Now Foley, along with her husband, fight back as the Co-Executive Directors of the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) in San Diego, California.
Can This Happen to You?
After Bridget J. Thomas learned that her identity was stolen by a bank employee at a branch 300 miles from the one she used, she was shocked. And that was just the beginning of her nightmare! When the thief was caught, she was working at a different bank in a different state. After her arrest, collection agencies continued to hound Ms Thomas.
Setting the Record Straight Might Not Be All That Easy - or Quick!
Setting the record straight is the tip of a nightmarish iceberg that can take months - even years to accomplish – often with undue pain and suffering for the victim. In serious cases victims spend an average of 600 hours and $1,400 in out-of-pocket expenses to repair their credit. Until they can prove their innocence, they are more likely to be:
• charged higher rates for insurance and fees for credit cards,
• rejected for student loans or home mortgages,
• arrested for crimes they did not commit,
• unable to get or keep a job.
A Call From A Collection Agency Or A turndown For A Loan Is Often the Only Tip-off That Your Identity Was Stolen.
A thief needs only one thing to open the doors to his windfall - your Social Security number. Unfortunately it is routinely used by government agencies, health care providers, utility companies, merchants, employers, and financial institutions. Often, your Social Security number is publicly available. That's how General John M. Shalikashvili, the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, became a victim. His Social Security number and those of many other military officers were published in the "Congressional Record" and were later posted on the internet. Thieves used their identities to open 273 new credit cards accounts and run up a bill of over $200,000.00 in charges.
Develop a Form of Defense
To stop identity thieves in their steps, there are several things you can do. You can begin by freezing access to your credit file. By doing so, you cause your file to become off-limits to anyone who does not know the secret PIN (Personal Information Number) of your choosing. This sets the wheels in motion to protect you from the bad guys - anyone who attempts to apply for credit in your name. It causes their application to be rejected; although your credit cards won't be affected. And if you want to apply for new credit or let a bank, store, or agency run a background check on you, you can get a credit thaw. For example, if you decided to shop for a big-ticket item, like a car, you might thaw your history for auto dealers.
Other Things You Can Do - Starting NOW!
• Periodically check your credit report for suspicious activities. Americans are now entitled to a free annual credit report from each of the three bureaus: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.
• If you elect to shop online, use a credit card rather than a debit card. With a credit card, you have the extra protection of maximum liability of $50.00 for unauthorized purchased.
• Learn more about "phishing" email scams, and other schemes, frauds, and cons to separate you from your identity and your money.
In the Event You Do Become A Victim
Here are some steps to take:
• Act fast and prepare yourself for an uphill battle uncooperative and unsupportive credit card and law enforcement agencies. For guidance and support, I suggest that you turn to organizations and agencies like ITRC, the Federal Trade Commission, and others.
• Call the fraud dept. of one of the three credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion, and request that a fraud alert be placed on your credit reports. (The other two credit bureaus will automatically be notified.) The alert lasts for 90 days and requires creditors to call you before opening new accounts in your name; however, a word of caution is in order here. There are no legal requirements to honor alerts and merchants who are eager to make a sale may ignore them.
• Close your credit card accounts and change the passwords on all your financial and banking accounts.
• File a police report. Although credit bureaus won’t extend a fraud alert without it, be aware that local police departments may be reluctant to provide a report. Many may lack the resources to properly investigate the crime.
• Mail copies of the police report to all three credit bureaus with a cover letter demanding your complete credit file.
• Call every credit where you know a bogus account has been created and have them close your file immediately. Demand copies of all fraudulent applications for credit and billing statements. Creditors don’t want to divulge that information, but they will if you enclose a copy of a police report and forward your request it in writing via certified mail.
Conclusion: Face it, identity theft is a growing problem affecting everyone in some way or another. With the increase popularity of internet usage, it has become easier for cybercriminals to steal our identity. In 2002 alone, the victim total due to identity theft climbed to 10 million, a new high. The cost to the economy was up an astonishing 41 percent to $52.6 billion, according to The Identity Theft Survey Report, available from the Federal Trade Commission at the website (www.consumer.gov/idtheft/). Each year these totals are climbing with no apparent sign of slowing down.
What are your chances of becoming a victim of some form of identity theft? According to the Federal Trade Commission is one in ten.
“So what am I to do?” you ask. My recommendation is that first you educate yourself with information and resources at your disposal. Next, purchase identity theft insurance.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Wireless Home Security Systems
Adding wireless home security systems to your home or office can be quite easy as long as you know what you want and how to install them. With just a few simple facts in hand, you can quickly be on your way to finding what you want from the various wireless home security systems.
Prior to choosing wireless home security systems, you must decide a few things.
First you must look over your home to determine how many doors and windows will be used with the system. Next you must determine where you want your control panel and keypads. While some people find it is more convenient to have them close to the front door, others prefer to have them closer to the bedrooms. You can also have them in both places if you so choose.
You must also find out how far these doors and windows are from the system’s main sensors. If you are using wireless home security systems, they cannot be too far from the sensors or else they won’t be able to communicate with them.
Do you want a monitored system? For a small monthly fee, various companies’ can ‘watch’ your system. For a less expensive alternative, you can choose a basic system that connects a dialer to your home phone that can dial previously chosen numbers in the case of an emergency.
Motion detectors are also an option, but you may want to reconsider having them if anyone in your house, including pets, have a tendency to roam during the night or whenever your system is enabled.
Now that you have this information you can begin to look through the various options for wireless home security systems. The first step is contacting a reputable company that you know and trust.
When choosing the correct wireless home security systems model, make sure that you choose a system that monitors every zone in your home. With wireless home security systems you must be certain that it can perform correctly by reaching even the furthest zone.
Lastly, a user-friendly system is a must. If you don’t know how to use wireless home security systems, then they won’t do you much good in an emergency.
Be aware that when choosing wireless home security systems, each contact device takes batteries. It can be a bit pricier then a hard-wired system due to the fact that you must pay for service calls to replace the batteries. But this can be avoided if you buy them and install them yourself.
Speaking of installation, installing wireless home security systems can be quite easy to do yourself since they do not require any hard-wiring, only basic tools that you have lying around your house.
As previously discussed, the first step to installing wireless home security systems is figuring out where to put the control panels and sensors. Once you have done that, you are almost on your way to having your home ready to go in case of an emergency or break-in.
By following the instructions that come with wireless home security systems, you can quickly install your system while saving money. But, if you prefer to have it done for you, you can easily call a contractor, or a company specializing in this type of system, to do it for you.
