A better sense of security. Hardware and software working together to keep your home safer. Smart technology, motion sensors, and 24x 7 surveillance — these are one of the most exciting things that the average home-dwelling consumer got out of emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, and others.
With a market volume of US $7,151 million in the year 2020, most revenue is generated in the United States as far as Smart home security is concerned. In the United Kingdom, the revenue per smart home is around US $1,176 million.
The product penetration for smart security cameras today only stands at 12.2 % — which only means that there’s a long way to go by the time you see smart home automation and smart home security in every home in the United Kingdom.
Recently, there’s been some incessant chatter on Reddit about keeping homes safe. Interestingly, the advice has been pouring in from burglars themselves.
Here are some of those tips, straight from burglars and those who’ve managed to keep their homes safe to prevent burglary using some quirky tactics:
Wrong Key Under the Mat
In addition to installing smart security cameras or even traditional surveillance cameras, a user on Reddit decided to spook burglars (and essentially waste their time when it matters the most) by leaving a wrong key (or a key that doesn’t open anything important) to the wall beside the door.
When the homeowner wasn’t around, it was noticed that the thief walks to the door, checks under the mat, unsuccessfully try to grab the key, backs up, looks around to see if anyone is watching, realizes that it’s not going to work (while the incidence of risk only keeps increasing with time), and then leaves.
Use Smart LED lights, The Smart Way
Did you know that you can keep burglars away from your home just by keeping the lights on at all times?
If you thought that the burglars can sense patterns or notice that the lights
are on (without anyone really being at home), you can take this one step
further with smart lights and bulbs. Since your smart lights and bulbs can be
manipulated remotely (as long as the Internet router is on, and connected with
your smart lighting system), it makes for a great way to keep randomly keep
some lights on or off, depending on the time of the day or the day of the week.
By using the smart home lighting systems tactically, you’d make burglars feel that someone is indeed at home and they’d not risk making the move.
Be a Slob; Keep your Home Untidy
Even burglars can be sticklers when it comes to cleanliness. Leave your home
untidy like a slob and the chances are that you’ll keep your home safe, just
thanks to that. A few Reddit users in the conversation above kept valuables
under a pile of dirty laundry — the burglars simply didn’t even bother to look
underneath the pile.
In another case, a friend of a Reddit user had his home in such a mess that the burglar didn’t even bother getting into the room.
As they say, there’s something to be said about being untidy in situations like
these.
Smokes & Mirrors
One Reddit user literally had a smokescreen set up to prevent the “actual”
valuables at home such as jewelry and cash. She got herself a jewelry box (that
looked obvious enough), filled it up with some expensive looking fake jewelry
with a few £20 notes.
She then left the box at a conspicuous place in a way that you can’t miss it if you were in the room.
If a burglar ever sets foot in, he or she will probably just grab this box and make for the run leaving the actual valuables at home untouched.
Pretty good idea, we must say.
Don’t Be Stupid, Get rid of boxes & Mow Your Lawn
A few Reddit users had convincing messages to add to the conversation. One, never make the obvious mistake of leaving your shed unlocked while the rest of the home is locked up because if someone can make it to the shed, they’d have all the necessary tools to break into your house.
Second, don’t leave spare keys under mats, near pots at the door, or somewhere else that’s obvious (way too many people watched enough movies and shows to know this).
Another interest idea to keep burglars away is to regularly mow your lawn. Doing so simply shouts out your presence at home to burglars who might want to sneak in.
While the conversation on Reddit does make for interesting reading, it’d only leave you with a sense of responsibility that the onus is on you to keep your home safe.
Lookout some really smart home security systems, make use of simple home
security setup (in addition to robust hardware such as smart locks, smart
lights, smart security devices, and more).
Need help with smart home security? Get in touch with us today to receive a customized plan to help make your home secure.