Alarm system delay allows crash and smash break-in

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Alarm system delay allows crash and smash break-in
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IntroductionSAN ANTONIO - Crash and smash
break-ins are catching homeowners off guard and
giving burglars hours to ransack homes.
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We had been gone 11 hours on the road, opened
the door and just saw this devastation, said a
San Antonio homeowner who we'll refer to only as
Maria. She is reluctant to reveal her true
identity after being victimized in December.
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• "They had never seen such devastation from just a
  regular robbery," Maria said.
• When police arrived on the scene there was a
  large screen TV ripped off the wall, furniture
  flipped upside down, drawers emptied out and the
  ADT Alarm system panel lying on the floor.
• It appeared to have been destroyed and disabled.
• "I think they just knew the alarm system was
  disconnected," Maria said. "No police showed up
  and they just took their time."

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ADT sent this email in response

• Thank you for reaching out to us regarding the
  situation. The alarm system, which was sold and
  installed by a third party authorized dealer ,
  was disabled by an intruder before a signal was
  generated to alert ADT of the break-in.

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Unfortunately alarm systems can't stop burglars
from breaking into homes, which is why our
customers should always have homeowners insurance
to ensure their valuables are protected in the
event of a theft. Per our contract, which defines
our responsibility in the event of a customer
loss, we resolved our claim in a timely manner,
and both she and her husband have released us
from liability from the claim.
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"The tech that came out after the robbery told us
that there was a 30 second delay on all the
windows and all the doors in the house," Maria
said. News 4 asked a security consultant if 30
seconds was enough time to break in and destroy
an alarm panel.
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"It takes less than 10 seconds to go through your
house and get what you need," said News 4 Crime
tracker Specialist, Gilbert De La Portola. He
recommends setting the alarm delay for just 20
seconds. In the interest of other homeowners, the
Trouble Shooters called ADT to find out how they
might respond in a Home security sales pitch
situation, asking the technician they sent out
about "crash and smash" protection.
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"The older way was to go over the phone line,"
said the technician. "Those ones, we won't be
able to tell if there's any tampers until it
checks the system at midnight." "Would all alert
us at midnight," asked our undercover
producer. "We would call at a reasonable hour,"
responded the technician.
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• "If they try to take the keypad off the wall (or)
  if they tamper with anything you would get a text
  message and it would tell you exactly which
  sensor was going on and what was going on with
  the system," said the technician.
• He also explained this increased level of
  protection only applies if you have ADT's cell
  uplink service.

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• De La Portola said one of the ways to reduce the
  risk of crash and smash with any system is to
  minimize the time delay the time between someone
  entering your home and the alarm going off,
  signaling the monitoring center.
• The length of time you can delay your system may
  depend on the company you choose, as is the case
  with crash and smash protection.

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• For More Information Call 210-568-0306 or
  visit www.friendlysecurity.com