If you were a burglar, would you target your house?
Here are a few ingenious ways that you can fool a burglar into thinking that there’s someone home.
TV Simulators
If a burglar wants to know whether anybody’s home, the flickering light of the television through the window is going to provide a clear answer. A TV simulator exists to deter burglars when you’re asleep or away, switching between differently coloured lights in order to suggest that you’re watching television.
Defender Security/Zennox
The Defender Security/Zennox TV simulators have two different colours of light, and they have sensors that turn the devices on at dusk and leave them running for about six to eight hours. The devices can be powered by battery or mains electricity.
Reviews:
Amazon (Defender)
Amazon (Zennox)
Buy From:
Amazon (Defender)
Amazon (Zennox)
Fake TV
FakeTV has red, green, blue and white lights, that mimic the scene changes and motion of a television screen. It can run for four or seven hours following dusk, dependent on what the user selects.
Reviews:
Amazon – 4.5 out of 5* (as of 06/2015)
Technogog – 10/10
Buy From:
“Beware of the Dog”
Don’t have a dog but think that they are a good deterrent to would-be-burglars? Then there are ways of indicating that you do own one. You could buy a sticker or sign on your gate that warns them that you have a dog…or you could even purchase a device that emits a barking dog sound!
Clifford James’ Barking Dog Alarm
The Barking Dog Alarm, as the name suggests, emits the sound of a dog – specifically a barking German Shepherd – when it detects movement. It has 360° detection, and its volume and sensitivity are adjustable. If you decide that you’d rather not use the dog’s bark, you can also use a traditional alarm sound.
Reviews:
Amazon – 3.6 out of 5* (as of 06/15)
Clifford James – 4.5 out of 5* (as of 06/15)
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Yale SmartHome Alarm
The Yale SmartHome Alarm allows you to add any MP3 to it. This means that you could have the sound of a barking dog, or the sound of people chatting in the garden….whatever you like! It also has wider functions as a home automation device ( see below!).
Buy From:
Automating your home
One way in which you can suggest you’re in the house is by using switch timers. If you set a number of devices to switch on and off at appropriate times, you can give the impression of an active home. However, you can take things a step further with home automation devices.
Piper
Piper is a video monitoring device that doesn’t just alert you to what’s happening in your property, but allows you to control lights and appliances with it using your smartphone. This means that if you were alerted to a burglar, you could turn on a light or appliance to indicate to them that you’re inside the property when you’re not. Special ‘Z-Wave’ plugs are required to use this functionality.
The main Piper device can be bought with and without night vision. You can also purchase additional door and window sensors that recognise when they have been opened.
Reviews:
PC Mag – 4* out of 5*
TechHive – 3.5* out of 5*
Buy From:
Amazon (Classic)
Amazon (Night Vision)
Flare
BuddyGuard’s Flare is an intelligent security device with a number of features. Being a smart device, it not only detects motion but recognises faces and voices. If a stranger breaks in then it can initially emit sounds such as people chatting or dishes being washed in order to try and deter a burglar.
The device also uses IFTTT. This means it can connect to a number of devices and applications, and can have rules set so that different actions cause different reactions (i.e. motion causes the lights to turn on).
Buy From:
BuddyGuard (Pre-Order)
Previews:
Homeboy
The Homeboy camera is a multi-function device that, like Piper, can turn on lights and appliances linked to it upon detecting motion. Like Flare, it will be able to use IFTTT to create actions-reactions in conjunction with a variety of applications and devices.
UK release date not yet announced
Previews:
Yale SmartHome Alarm
Yes, we’ve already mentioned the SmartHome alarm. But as well as being able to change the sound of the alarm, you can link it up to your home. For instance, you can set up it up so that the triggering of an outdoors infrared sensor causes a light in the house to go on.
The kit, when bought from Yale, contains one control panel, three sensors, one door contact and one siren.
Buy From:
Get your neighbour’s help!
If you go on holiday, it’s all well and good being able to remotely access a device, but there’ll be tell-tale signs that you’re away. A good way to stop this from being evident to a burglar is by getting the help of a neighbour, friend or relative. They could house sit, attend the property regularly and remove post from inside the front door, or a neighbour could even park on your driveway to suggest that someone’s still home. Take a peek at our post on how community could contribute to your home security!)
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It’s worth bearing in mind that these suggestions aren’t foolproof. Our burglary statistics show that a small majority of burglars will still enter the property when people are around. It could be the case that this is due to houses not appearing to have strong security.
At the least, you should ensure that your house is secured with British Standard locks, and that it appears looked after. Ex-burglar Michael Fraser told The Telegraph that even an open front gate can signify lax security.
Call us on 0800 0612 677 if you’re interested in a security survey or any of our other services.
