(Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG) Perhaps by now you’ve heard, there’s a rampant South American Theft Ring wrecking havoc in wealthy areas all over the country, with Southern California, from San Diego to Ventura, being hit particularly hard. Our owner, Shep Bryan, chatted on the topic with KTLA5 and the OC Register over the weekend. Read the full OC Register article here. Now dubbed “tourist burglars”, groups of 4-8 men travel from South America on tourist visas after being trained for speed and efficiency. These burglaries typically last just 5 mins. They stake
Did you know that there are no rules or laws requiring banks to reimburse customers if valuables in their “safe” deposit boxes are stolen or destroyed? According to The New York Times, “There are no federal laws governing the boxes; no rules require banks to compensate customers if their property is stolen or destroyed.” There are countless stories of banks losing customer’s boxes and contents. This isn’t the type of theft that’s easily taken care of in court either. It’s rare that those who’ve been stolen from are compensated much, if any. The banks have
With recent Santa Ana winds raging, fire risk is higher than normal, which bodes the question: Is your home fireproof? Consider doing a fire safety survey of your home and check out the tips from the NFPA on how to fireproof your home on our infographic below. If you don’t have a fire safe already, don’t delay! Some valuables are irreplaceable and can only truly be protected in a fire resistant safe. Check out our inventory of fire safes here and leave us your questions in the comment section below.
Can safes really be cracked, or is it all a Hollywood illusion? In the recently released blockbuster film, Now You See Me, a team of magicians known as the Four Horsemen, are masters of every trick in the book, including safe cracking. One of the Four Horsemen, Jack Wilder, claims that, “Nothing is ever really locked.” So is it true? And is it as easy as these grand thief actors make it seem? Well, the most popular method of safe cracking is simply stealing the entire safe and hauling it to another location where the
We are regularly asked if a safe should be bolted to the floor. The answer is easy – YES, it should be! Whether it’s a home safe, gun safe, jewelry safe, or any other kind of safe, bolting it down gives you more security. However, there are sometimes issues that must be considered when determining whether or not to bolt your safe to your floor, so evaluate which of the following categories you fall into, and plan accordingly. Concrete Slab –Whether in the garage or inside the house, if you have a concrete slab floor,
Print out our Home Security Audit Checklist and do your own home security audit!
According to the FBI crime statistics, a burglary occurs somewhere in the U.S. every 15.4 seconds, and 87% of those burglaries are considered to have been preventable. So what can you do to best be prepared?
Success in life has many great benefits, including the ability to invest in objects of value. After working hard to acquire these items, you want to make sure that your valuables are protected, as certain items are easy to carry off and frequently the target of would-be thieves. Enjoy the things that matter without fear or worry by taking the following precautions: 1. Keep an Updated Inventory Creating a catalogue of valuables will help ensure that everything is where it should be, and to more easily target an absence if something goes missing. In addition,
Helping you secure your valuables in quality safes is our primary business, at the same time we want to do what we can to help you stay safe in other areas as well. Home safes, jewelry safes, and gun safes are an important part of your big picture security plan. It is also important to protect your good name, your personal identity and your personal valuables. Approximately 15 million United States residents have their identities used fraudulently each year with financial losses totaling upwards of $50 billion. That means, 7% of all adults have their
Are you planning to go for a vacation? Or perhaps you stay outside home for long hours and sometimes even for a couple of days and get worried over your home and family’s safety? To have your home safe from dangers like future break-ins, fire break out and also to restore your peace of mind, here are some tips you may find most helpful: As reported to KUSA, the media channel based in Denver and also according to the local reports from Times-Picayune, Colorado and New Orleans police are taking the burglary offenses most seriously
A recent run of home burglaries in Texas suggests that thieves have learned to outsmart residential security systems. With knowledge of typical installations crooks are able to quickly enter the home, gather their loot and escape. When home safes are in use, protected valuables are secure while other items are easily snatched up. Police indicate that homes are being broken into through back doors and windows. This way crooks can gain entrance without passersby seeing them. Once inside the thieves stay to the back of the house avoiding any visibility through front windows. Staying out
House fires, not something I want to think about, but they are a real possibility. The National Fire Protection Association reports that there are as many as 400,000 house fires every year in the United States. It isn’t something we should ignore. With our most valued possessions at risk, the old adage, prepare for the worst and hope for the best, is a good approach. That means, take precautions to prevent the most common causes of house fires, and consider a home safe to protect key valuables as your last line of defense, just in
Whether your jewels have monetary or sentimental value, they are treasures that you want to have forever. The best way to ensure this is to lock them up in a luxury jewelry safe. Overstuffed drawers, multiple hiding places, and unorganized pouches can easily lead to missing rings, tangled necklaces, and earrings without their match. Typical hiding places around the home do little to protect your gems, and bank security boxes leave them out of your reach when you are dressing. Safes for jewelry are a much better solution. Here are a few tips for keeping
Summer is here and many of us are looking forward to getting away for a break from the pressure of work and school. Any time we are away our homes are more vulnerable to burglars. Knowing this certainly doesn’t help us to the transition from the stress of everyday life to a restful, relaxing vacation. The good news is, there are a few simple things we can do to protect our homes and our valuables allowing us to more fully enjoy vacation. While securing your valuables in a quality home safe or gun safe is
The one that has room for everything you want to protect, safely and conveniently. The one that looks the way you want it to look. The one that fits where you want to put it. The one that keeps out the bad guy who is stupid enough to break into your home. The one that protects your valuables from fire until the crew puts it out. The one that fits your budget. Preparation will help you get the right jewelry safe for your needs. Before you go shopping take a mental if not paper inventory
Home safes are a great way to protect your valuables. Where you put your security safe is an important component of the security it will offer. But, there is not one best place. The placement decision should be based on the contents and how frequently you want access to them, the type of safe and how heavy the safe is. Security safes that hold frequently accessed items should be placed as close to the point of use as possible. The safe won’t offer you much protection if you don’t use it because it isn’t convenient.
Where do you keep your jewelry? If you are like many folks it’s in a bedroom or bathroom drawer, crammed in a too small jewelry box, or laying on your bathroom counter. Maybe you are tricky, and even hide some special pieces in places a burglar would “never find”, or so you hope. It’s not worth it. The risk of your jewelry, with precious memories attached, left vulnerable to burglary and fire, just doesn’t make sense. The thought, it would never happen to me, only works for so long. The effort and investment required to
A six-year-old boy found a loaded shot gun under his parent’s bed. His older brother, 12 years of age, saw the younger brother and attempted to take the gun away. The gun accidentally went off critically injuring the younger boy. Why wasn’t this gun securely stored in a gun safe? These stories are in the news much too often. While this time the setting is Salinas, CA, similar situations occur in cities all across the country, more often than we want to imagine. Adding to the tragedy is the possibility that one or both of
Is your son or daughter headed off to college this fall? Have you considered a burglary safe? The dorms are great fun but can also present a security risk. In the midst of the new and exciting social environment students often leave their doors open. New friends and acquaintances stop by and visit and spontaneous gatherings occur. It may not be until hours later that they realize an iPod or digital camera is missing. College kids these days have a collection of valuable electronic devices; laptops, iPods, iPads, cell phones, digital cameras and maybe even
A common complaint of folks who have purchased a gun safe is they wish they bought a bigger one. Home safes are like closets, we fill them up quickly. Most folks will keep their security safe for a very long time, in fact your safe may very well out-live you. Security safes don’t wear out, they just get too small. To make the most of your investment, buy your home safe at least one size bigger than you think you need. Most of us are concerned about cost. What you will likely find is that
Jewelry safes protect personal jewelry from damage, theft and fire. The key characteristics of a home jewelry safe include an interior that provides well designed, velvet lined organization for your jewelry and a safe itself that provides verified burglar and fire protection. Third party verification by a reputable testing agency ensures that the protection that you expect is indeed the protection that you are getting with the jewelry safe that you purchase. In addition to jewelry safes there are several other tips to consider to protect your jewelry. Damage to jewelry is very common, but
Home jewelry safes are an excellent place to securely and conveniently store your jewelry. First, select a good quality safe that’s the right size to meet your needs now and in the future. Then you will likely have the opportunity to select the type of lock you want. There are several things to consider as you select the lock for your home jewelry safe. The three most common jewelry safe locks are the traditional tumbler style combination lock, the electronic/digital lock and the biometric or fingerprint lock. The most important consideration is that the lock
We are blessed to live in a country where we have so much freedom, but with freedom comes responsibility. If you own, or plan to own a hand gun, rifle, or any type of firearm it is your responsibility to secure it. Gun safes provide peace of mind that your gun will not be discovered by a child or stolen and used in a future crime. Securing your firearm does not mean it can’t be easily and quickly accessible. The critical components to assuring quick access to your firearms are: locating the gun safe near
Sean was in our store today looking at safes for home. After two bad experiences with home security safes from big box stores he has learned the hard way. The first security safe was too light weight and not bolted down; it was carried off by burglars with the wife’s jewelry and all their important papers inside while he and his family slept undisturbed upstairs. The second home security safe was larger and heavier, but not very good quality. Two months after the one-year warranty expired the handle malfunctioned. After several phone conversations with the
We are thrilled with American Security Products (AMSEC) newly configured 2-hour fire rated gun safe, the ExecuVault. This safe is perfect for the customer who has just a few rifles but also needs a secure place to store a variety of other valuables. The ExecuVault is actually a multi-purpose safe. It is a gun safe, jewelry safe, fire safe and burglar safe all rolled into one. The body is the AMSEC CSC4520 with serious burglar protection plus two hours of fire protection. The interior offers nicely padded shelving with slots for up to 6 rifles,
Enough! There are too many real life stories of young people harming or killing themselves or others while playing with guns. Guns are here to stay. Whether or not you have a gun in your home we should all be talking with our kids about guns. If you have a gun in your home, lock it up in a gun safe!!! The most recent story I have run across took place just last week in Salt Lake City. A 16-year old boy was hanging out with a small group of guys at a friend’s home
My family home was burglarized when I was a teenager, but that was a long time ago. It’s easy for me to get complacent after so many years of feeling safe. We don’t have a lot, but we do have a few special things that I would hate to have taken. Some of these I keep in our home jewelry safe most of the time. Other items I put in when we are away from home on vacation. Our jewelry safe is great for all kinds of valuables. Because it has burglar and fire protection
The most common complaint we hear from our customers is that they have run out of room and wish they had purchased a larger home safe. Safes are like closets, you generally fill up what you have, and fast! Over time we realize more and more things that we want to secure. To help minimize the running out of room problem review the following list of items that many folks keep in their home safes. Make a list of what you want to put in yours and use that as a starting point, then if
Jewelry theft is often a crime of opportunity. Visitors in your home; workers, friends or even family members are tempted by valuables that are visible or easily accessible. Burglars are always looking for the easiest targets. Each year greater than $1 billion of jewelry disappears in North America. Protecting your valuables in a jewelry safe is just one of the steps you can take to reduce your chance of being victimized. Do keep your jewelry safe by: 1) Installing good locks on doors and windows and using them when you leave the house and at
Police in communities across the country are alerting homeowners of a rise in home burglaries. It is time to do a home security evaluation and consider a quality home safe to secure your valuables. Over the past few months there has been a significant rise in the number of newspaper articles in which police warn homeowners of an increase in home burglaries. • Police report a rise in home burglaries. San Ramon, CA 11/09 • During the holidays home burglaries increase. Richmond Hill, GA 12/8 • 4.5% increase in burglaries over last year. Omaha, NE
