How to Prevent a Burglar from Disabling Your Outdoor Security Cameras

Most house break-ins are not personal, though that offers little comfort to the victims of burglary. Ask anyone who has returned home to find their house ransacked how they feel. The majority will tell you it leaves them feeling vulnerable, exposed and violated. It's even more heartbreaking when someone has invested time and money into setting up what they thought was a good home security system. In this article we look at how to better secure your property from housebreakers in general. We take a particular look at how to prevent a burglar from disabling your outdoor security cameras.

Wireless Jamming

Many outdoor security camera systems these days are wireless. This makes them easy to setup (even for a technophobe). The problem with wireless security cameras is that a tech savvy burglar can potentially block its frequency. It's what the criminals call wireless jamming 101. The way they jam (block) your wireless signal is to use a stronger signal on the same frequency of your cameras. This "much stronger" signal then renders the camera(s) ineffective. To put that into simple terms look at it like this: shouting over someone will drown them out so no one can hear them. It's important to note that these types of break-ins are semi-sophisticated and less likely to occur.

Solutions

The best way to protect yourself is to not advertise the system you're using with a window sticker. By all means publicize that your property is protected, but without giving specifics. If a burglar knows what system you have in place, they can then find the frequency it broadcasts on. A simple search on Google should do it. Most house break-ins, though, are opportunistic, forced style entries. Even so, it's still important to be aware of the signal jamming method used by some criminals.

Wire Cutting

Most burglars carry a pair of wire clippers with them. Their aim is to cut your main power supply line which then stops all your security cameras, and any other devices, from sending out signals/alerts.

Solutions

A lot of residential security equipment connects to mains power and a telephone line. Modern homes or renovated properties now have "concealed" telephone lines and mains power boxes, but there are still many others that don't. If you fit into the latter category, your solution is to change from an exposed to a concealed wiring set up. Alternatively, you can opt for cellular-only services and have a generator as a backup in case an intruder cuts off your mains power supply. Another precaution is to have a system that can send out an alert in the event of a mains power outage.

How Vulnerable Are My Outdoor Security Cameras

If outdoor security cameras have a hardwired setup, that makes them one snip away from deactivation. If they're wireless, tech savvy hackers can potentially break into the camera's feed to send out fake signals. If they're really well-prepared, they can even jam the WiFi signal (see above).

Solutions

For outdoor security cameras, I always advise wireless options for obvious reasons. However, not all outdoor cameras are equal. You want to make sure that any IP or bullet cameras you fix outside have concealed wires. A private network will also protect you against hacking and signal jamming. And finally, don't make them obvious. Do whatever you can to make the units inconspicuous by positioning them out of sight or out of reach the best you can.

How Vulnerable Is My Home in General?

There's one important thing to understand about the opportunistic burglar. That is, most of them know more about residential security than the people they steal from. This is just a fact. We can all set up a security system out of the box—that part is easy. But unless you know how to maximize its effect, your home is still vulnerable, at least to some degree. It's true that the vast majority of break-ins are unsophisticated acts of opportunity. Despite this, the average thief still has some knowledge on how to bypass a weak security system.

Here are four things that make homes vulnerable targets:

1. Vulnerable cameras (see above)
2. Exposed wiring (see above)
3. People give out too much "public" information about themselves
4. Failure to focus on second floor security

Be Careful What You Say and Who You Tell

Too much information may include telling your followers on social media what you're up to and where you are going to be at any given time. Be especially careful if your posts are public. Burglars track conversations on social media accounts. They're looking to see if anyone broadcasts their forthcoming holiday dates and other times when their home may be empty.

Having the family name displayed on the mailbox is another common mistake. This gives a potential burglar the opportunity to look you up in the phone book. They can then periodically call you to see if there's anyone home. Most burglars are in and out of a residential property within 8 - 12 minutes, so they don't need long. And finally, protect your second floor points-of-entry like you do the first floor.

The conclusion: The best way to protect your home is to think like a burglar thinks.