Am I worrying too much?

[farronwolf]

We were out of town last week and had a gal fill in to do some payrolls ect. at the office. On Monday night when I drove past the office I noticed the light which is normally left on 24/7 was turned out. I can only assume that she inadvertantly turned it off when she left on Friday. No big deal I think the next day I will just turn it on.

Tuesday, I was out of the office doing some work at an attorney's place so when I went back to the office I parked out front instead of the back. I noticed that there was a wire hanging off the eve of the building and noticed that the speaker that it was supposed to be attached to was missing, ok it had been stolen. This is the outside speaker to the office alarm system. There was one screw laying in the parking lot and I could tell where it had been ripped out of the wood.

Ok, now my mind is going, what the heck would someone want with an alarm system speaker. How the heck do I know, but hey, some folks would try to steal the stink off of crap if they could get away with it.

Then after some additional thought throughout the day I think, hey, what if they are getting rid of the speaker so that they can break into the office. What they would want with stuff in my office I have no idea, but there are thousands of personal tax records in there and some other stuff that is pretty valuable.

Needless to say, the past two nights I have spent the night at the office just in case there are plans to make an unauthorized attempt at removing my stuff from the premesis. I am currently waiting on the alarm company to replace the outside speaker and put it in a place that is less accessible, and install a wireless backup to the phone line system.

Ok, so, am I being to paranoid, or would some of you all be spending a few nights on a cot at the office?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[hogdaddy]

Good thinking, Not paranoid. Good Luck & Stay Safe ; )
H/D

[Guantes]

Your business, your call.

[OldVet]

It could very well be that someone is "eliminating" the outside alarm. Do what you think is necessary to protect your business. Is you phone line accessible from outside--easy to cut? Maybe it's time for a professional consultation with a security person to evaluate any weak points as far as access and alarms.

[CCWFlaRuger]

Not paranoid, but be careful, these perps (if they are perps casing for a breakin) have thought pretty far ahead and very well may be armed, I'd have plenty of artillery on hand and more than one plan of egress and source of cover in the office, if at all possible.

[Kenny256]

I understand totaly, something similar happend a few years ago to my familys buisness. After some diff trial and errors senerios we got it all figured out.
When I drive by the store at night and I see someone in the parking lot I stop in and check up.

[BugDude]

Not paranoid at all, pretty good thinking actually. Consider letting the police know just do they are aware of it and you can also put a steel cage around your alarm speaker

[ATXFather]

Not paranoid, good luck with everything

[zacii]

Definitely not paranoid; proactive is better

[varob]

I wish my accountant was as dedicated in protecting my personal info.

Sounds like some teens just looking to steal/destroy something.

If it was the intent of a thief to break in, they probably would have just disabled the speaker, so as not to make it so obvious.

[Shackleton]

I wouldn't say paranoid, my mothers business has suffered from both internal and external attacks of theft before and she solved the problem with coded dead bolt steel doors for the back and some "unbreakable" glass for the front along with a nice security system. They might get in, but they will not get back out free men. (Knock on wood.)

[Arko]

I'd say it was pretty prudent. If possible, consider photos and notes before it's fixed, and possibly requesting a visit from a neighborhood officer.

[BigStick]

Not paranoid. Sounds like a reasonable concern for your business and proporty that you have worked hard to earn and build.

[farronwolf]

The phone line is accessible from the outside, not really any way around that, since the phone company uses overhead lines in this part of town still.

We are working on a steel enclosed speaker with the alarm company. I had one of the officers on duty stop by today just to let him know. He didn't file a report but he was going to relay the info to the night shift supervisor and see if anything similar has been happening in other areas.

The way our office is layed out, the two exterior doors are steel and open towards the outside and have key only deadbolts, so that pretty much eliminates them coming in through the doors I guess. The three windows are at least 4 1/2 feet of the ground so they are going to have to climb to get in if they choose to go through there. Two are on the front of the building on a pretty busy street with lots of lighting.

The one that gives me the most concern is the window that is towards the back of the building in a sort of alley way between my office and the insurance office next door. It is not really lit, but is probably over 5 feet off the ground. This window does however give me a good view with the blinds just slightly gapped, so I can see the shadow off the end of the building which is lit by a security light. Now if that light happens to be unscrewed I definately know something is going on. The only lighting at night in there is from the server and routers. Well that is unless I have to open the fridge then it gets really bright, but I check for activity before making a quick entry in for snacks.

Oh well, one more night on the cot, and hopefully they will be here tomorrow with the cell backup and a new speaker pointing towards the busy street.

Hopefully it was just a couple of stupid kids doing stupid stuff. This is one time I am hoping for youthful ignorance, better than having to shoot someone for being a thief.

[retsupt99]

Certainly not paranoid on your part...I would be doing the same thing. One has to protect self-interests when in a business.