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Avoid Home Security Scams. Are You a Target?

By Ephrat Livni, Esq. on October 19, 2015 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Your home is secure and everyone knows it. You've got that sign in your yard that advertises your security system, and it deters crime. Or does it?

Home security system scams are not new but they are on the rise. The targets of these scams are almost asking for it. Or, more precisely, they are advertising their vulnerability.

Find out how you can avoid doing the same and keep your home safe.

Scamming Security System Owners

Homes with brand security systems were being targeted by scammers, abc7 in San Francisco reported last year. The victims were chosen by the signs in their yards announcing home alarms and monitoring.

ADT home security company president David Vleisch explained, "People show up unannounced at one of our customers' doors, claim they're with ADT or claim they're with one of the manufacturing companies that, you know, produces their equipment, and claim that they're there to switch out their equipment and upgrade them," Vleisch said. "And it's a pack of lies and we want to stop it."

The company offered a $25,000 reward for evidence of a company training its sales team to be deceitful. "Every security company is subject to the same scam," said Vleisch. "The scammer looks at the yard sign out front and, whether or not it is ADT or another company, they'll say they are from the company that provides their current security."

No Free Lunch or Security Systems

If you don't have a home security system, that does not mean you are safe. There is a scam designed for you, too.

Homes that do not display information about their security systems are also targeted. "We were told to tell people that we were not sales people and we were actually going to provide them a free home security system," Colin Greenbauer explained to abc7.

Greenbauer said that when he was in college, he participated in one of these scams unwittingly. Believing he was part of a reality television program, he and other college students were tricked into working the con, not realizing the nature of the deception involved.

True Security Comes From Within

Whether you have an alarm system and advertise it on your lawn or not, there is a door-to-door security scam designed to rob you of that very thing you seek. Home security.

Be wary. Do not let anyone in your home who is not expected for a particular service that you have requested. If the person at your door insists it is a required service, speak with your security provider. Double check with your supplier if someone comes by claiming they need to switch out equipment or otherwise adjust your system.

Total security is impossible. But you can stay safe by being careful and cautious. Don't let your quest for security become a vulnerability. Be vigilant. Simple things, like not letting strangers in your home, make a big difference.

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