Home security (CCTV) cameras are one of the season’s hottest Christmas gifts! Makers of wifi CCTV cameras like drop cam or ring.com are promoting their web cameras as home security devices. It’s no wonder they are so popular with an affordable price tag of around $300 and the promise of an easy DIY installation. Customers can connect the web cameras to their home wifi network and see their camera systems remotely via cell phone application or web browser interface from anywhere in the country! I have one of the ring.com doorbells myself – and have to admit, it’s a techy gadget lover’s dream. It’s also fun to respond to your doorbell when you’re away from home and see the expression on the post man’s face when you answer their ring.

Maybe you shouldn’t consider these cameras as a Christmas gift at all. Maybe if you have a need for these devices, you should invest in a quality CCTV system before the holiday shopping season begins. The National Retail Federation has posted their findings in a recent report that estimates nearly 108.5 million Americans did their holiday shopping online this year. Quite the jump compared to the 99.1 million shoppers who actually ventured into the brick and mortar locations to do their purchasing. Can you imagine 108.5 million packages (or more) being delivered to the doorsteps around the country – all set to be delivered in the few short weeks before Christmas?

In Central Florida, we’ve seen the craziest of crimes caught on our CCTV cameras – and package thieves are at it again (and again, and again). Some of these crooks are so brazen they actually follow the drivers of delivery trucks waiting for packages to be dropped off on the doorsteps of an empty house where the thieves pull up, retrieve the packages and then move on to the next victim. What good does that camera do you after it has been stolen? No good at all. Instead, Lane Electronics and Alarm Systems Inc. recommends that you have your CCTV cameras installed well before the possibility that you would ever need them. You should set your CCTV cameras to detect movement and send you some kind of email alert when there is movement at your front door, that way you know when packages have been delivered and can make other arrangements to get them safely inside. If it’s too late and your packages are already on the way, we suggest you have them delivered to your office or a local package pickup place for safe keeping.

Have a great holiday season – from all of us at Lane Electronics and Alarm Systems in Winter Park, Florida