What To Do After A Break-in At Your Scranton Home?
It’s every family’s nightmare. You pull in the driveway to see your front door has been forced open or a window smashed. You can hardly process what’s happened, worrying about what’s missing and the damage to your property. What will you do? Remain calm, take a deep breath, and follow these tips after a break-in at your Scranton home.
When things get back to normal, learn how to better prevent intrusions with a modern security system.
Initial Steps After A Break-In
Finding your house has been broken into is unsettling. You may be frightened, upset, or simply in shock. Regardless, it’s critical to act rationally by doing the following:
- Do not enter. It’s only natural that you want to rush inside to look around. Don’t. There’s a risk a burglar is still there.
- Call law enforcement immediately. Keep yourself and loved ones safely away and wait until help gets there. Work with the police to file a report.
- Don’t touch a thing. Let the police secure the area and gather evidence.
What Are The Next Steps?
You’ve conversed with the police, and it’s safe to go back inside. What should happen next?
- Alert your bank and credit card companies . If an intruder snagged wallets, purses, or private documents, you’ll wish to alert your credit card issuers and banks right away. It’s smart to put a hold on accounts and your credit. You can also place a fraud alert with the major credit bureaus.
- Reach out to your insurance company. Initiate a claim with your insurance provider. This should be done within 24 hours of the burglary.
- Take photos of the damage. Document broken windows, forced doors, and all other obvious damage.
- Document what is missing. Write down what’s been stolen and provide it to the police and your insurance company.
- Secure your house. Make your home safe again by replacing locks, fixing doors and windows, and taking care of other damage. If you utilize a keypad lock system, now is the time to update your codes.
Tidying up will do wonders for your stress and make things feel normal. After you do so, it’s time to think about upgrading your home security.
Strengthen Your Scranton Home’s Security
What should you do to prevent another break-in from happening? Your initial step should be to assess your home security. A new system with these tools will go a long way to better protecting your home:
- Security cameras: Almost every trespasser will hesitate when they notice video cameras. Today’s exterior and doorbell cameras provide advanced functionality like AI-driven smart detection. When there’s unusual activity, you’ll receive an alert.
- Access-point sensors: All doors and windows (particularly those on the lower level) should be safeguarded by contact or glass-break sensors.
- Smart locks and lights: These automated devices can be operated from anywhere. Worried you didn’t secure your door? You can confirm and engage the lock directly from your mobile device. You can even have inside lights switch on if a camera detects someone lurking.
If you are looking for a connected system that alerts you and monitoring staff any time a camera or sensor is set off, consider a package from ADT, your home security experts. You’ll enjoy the smartphone access, 24/7 monitoring, and convenient automation.
Prevent Break-Ins With The Leading Home Security Systems In Scranton
Stop intrusions from happening with an ADT home security system in Scranton from Secure24 Alarm Systems. As your trusted ADT dealer, we install advanced equipment from the top name in the business. Explore your options by dialing (570) 217-8895 or submitting our form today.