By: Tom Rogers
Senior Vice President, Operations Support
Vector Security, Inc.

Protect your security information like you do your social security number, bank accounts and credit cards.

Reason dictates that you wouldn’t offer a stranger information about your financial or personal life; but should you feel comfortable giving out your security information to perfect strangers? What about family members, property caretakers, cleaning people and contractors who might have access to your property too? Our advice is to treat your Vector Security information just like you treat your social security number, bank account information and credit card numbers. Provide this information only to those in whom you have complete trust, and no one else.

So what does your Vector Security information entail? Well, first and foremost, your alarm system arm and disarm code; but it goes much further. Your security information includes your personal Vector Security password(s), your emergency contact list, the complete scope of protection your system provides, and how it operates. But that’s still not all...Your contractual paperwork, including your monitoring contract and Emergency Data (EDS) sheet, contains vital information concerning your system, how it’s monitored and how Vector Security will respond to a variety of emergency signals from home or business. Contractual information, service records and other paperwork information relative to your Vector Security system should be stored in a secure location and you should be aware of the location of any copies of that information. Never give that information out to anyone except someone you trust or an authorized Vector Security representative.

Why are we stressing this request so emphatically? Here’s why. As more and more home and business owners install security systems, the number of unprotected properties within a given community begin to diminish. This reduces the number of attractive properties thieves can break into, forcing them to think of creative ways to “defeat or circumvent” an installed system. Thieves are now trying to obtain operational information about security systems as a way to easily defeat them, much like online “pfishers” try to obtain your credit card, social security number or bank account numbers to empty your accounts or run up purchases on them. People can also try to solicit information about your Vector Security system through the mail, on the phone or even in person. So our advice when a stranger asks questions about how your Vector Security system operates, where it’s monitored or details concerning your monitoring contract with us, tell him or her that the information is strictly private between you and Vector Security.

FAQs

What items encompass my security information? First and foremost, your alarm system arm and disarm code; but it goes much further. Your security information includes your personal Vector Security password(s), your emergency contact list, the complete scope of protection your system provides, and how it operates. But that’s still not all...Your contractual paperwork, including your monitoring contract and Emergency Data (EDS) sheet, contains vital information concerning your system, how it’s monitored and how Vector Security will respond to a variety of emergency signals from home or business. Contractual information, service records and other paperwork information relative to your Vector Security system should be stored in a secure location and you should be aware of the location of any copies of that information. Never give that information out to anyone except someone you trust or an authorized Vector Security representative.

Why does that information need to remain secure? As more and more home and business owners install security systems, the number of unprotected properties within a given community begin to diminish. This reduces the number of attractive properties thieves can break into, forcing them to think of creative ways to “defeat or circumvent” an installed system. Thieves are now trying to obtain operational information about security systems as a way to easily defeat them, much like online “pfishers” try to obtain your credit card, social security number or bank account numbers to empty your accounts or run up purchases on them.

By what means could someone try to gain my security information? People can try to solicit information about your Vector Security system through the mail, on the phone or even in person through neighborhood canvassing.

How should I respond if someone questions me about my Vector Security system? Treat your Vector Security information just like you would your social security number, bank account information and credit card numbers. Provide this information only to those you have complete trust in and no one else. When a stranger asks questions about how your Vector Security system operates, where it’s monitored or details concerning your monitoring contract with us, tell him or her that the information is strictly private between you and Vector Security.