Diamonds, gold, heirlooms, briefcases full of cash, and other priceless items have to be kept somewhere safe.
Where do you keep your most precious belongings?
The popular answer is at the bank, in a safe deposit box.
Other than seeing safe deposit boxes used in movies, what do you know about the security of it?
Stacey Cowley wrote an incredible article published by the New York Times that sheds light on the danger and insecurity of safe-deposit boxes in banks.
How safe are Safe Deposit Boxes?
In the article written by Cowley, she talks about the risks and dangers of holding your valuables in a safe-deposit box. It’s not so luxurious and secure as movies make it out to be.
Every year, a few hundred customers report to authorities that valuable items — art, memorabilia, diamonds, jewelry, rare coins, stacks of cash — have disappeared from their safe deposit boxes.
Sometimes the fault lies with the customer. People remove items and then forget having done so. Others allow children or spouses access to their boxes, and don’t realize that they have been removing things.
But even when a bank is clearly at fault, customers rarely recover more than a small fraction of what they’ve lost — if they recover anything at all. The combination of lax regulations and customers not paying attention to the fine print of their box-leasing agreements allows many banks to deflect responsibility when valuables are damaged or go missing.
This brings up the question; Why would anyone want to pay a bank to hold their valuables in a safe-deposit box if they recover a small fraction at best of what they have could potentially lose even if they have insurance?
It doesn’t make any sense and it’s not fair. Banks need to start taking accountability in the event something like this comes up, increase the safety and security of the safe-deposit boxes, and/or get out of the business.
Banks don’t want to be in safe-deposit box business?
“All of the major national banks would prefer to be out of the safe-deposit box business,” said Jerry Pluard, the president of Safe Deposit Box Insurance Coverage.
“They view it as a legacy service that’s not strategic to anything they do, and they’ve stopped putting any real focus or resources into it.” He estimates that about half of the safe deposit boxes in the country are empty. The number of bank branches in the United States has been steadily declining — down 10 percent in the last decade
The number of bank branches in the United States has been steadily declining — down 10 percent in the last decade — and safe deposit boxes are being relocated, evicted and sometimes misplaced.
Banks prefer to be out of the safe-deposit business. If so, where is everyone going to keep their valuables?
Stories
What are situations where someone will be vulnerable having a their valuables in a bank?
In Maryland, a large bank closed several branches and lost track of hundreds of safe deposit boxes, according to a lawsuit filed by a customer who said he lost gold and gems valued at $500,000. In Florida, a customer accused Chase of losing her box and all of its contents — coins, jewelry and family heirlooms worth more than $100,000. (a federal judge ruled that she had waited too long to file her negligence claim and decided in the bank’s favor.)
Another story was in California;
In California, a Wells Fargo customer said the bank accidentally re-rented her box; the diamond necklace and other jewels she had in it were never found.
This is unacceptable.
The items that are being dealt with are worth so much money. In some circumstances it’s even worse; priceless heirlooms. The solution can’t be temporary or half-fast. The solution has to be very well thought-out and effective.
Other alternatives people use
Where do you keep your valuables? We have heard answers like sock drawer, mattress, closet, home safe, lock box, etc. However, we wouldn’t be writing this article if these were long-term solutions.
This brings up the big question; How secure is your safe?
Safes have not been re-engineered in a very long time. They are still opened by a number dial or a single key.
There are YouTube channels, Kevin Mitnick and LockPickingLawyer, that laugh at these types of locking mechanisms and show how vulnerable they are.
I hope you don’t own one of these!
What would your ideal home safe look like?
Every day, we use our smartphones to send out confidential emails, text messages, and store photos. The lengths that have been taken to protect this information include; face recognition, fingerprint scanning, 6 digit codes, etc.
Why is it that we still resort to keys and number dials to protect out most valuable items? Why don’t we use this proven and effective technology that everyone uses and is familiar with to keep our valuables secure!
That is exactly what the SILO smart safe is doing.
Meet SILO; Truly The First Smart Safe
SILO is truly the first smart safe using connected technology to keep your valuables safe.
An activity log is kept on the SILO touchscreen and mobile app. This notifies the owner in real-time when your safe was opened, tampered with, etc. to help track what happened in the case of a theft.
SILO has a lock-down mode as well.
When does your SILO enter lock-down mode?
- Passcode entered incorrectly 4 times in a row
- A hard impact; Hit with a hammer, dropped, etc.
- Owner shuts it down via the app
The master key is the only way to open your smart safe when it’s in lock-down mode.
A user can take the SILO off lock-down on the mobile app. Allowing the user to enter using their passcode or fingerprint.
SILO could’ve prevented these safe-deposit box problems;
- Children or Spouses having access to the box and [you] don’t realize that they have been removing items.
SILO gives you the capability to share with up to three other users.
The mobile app and SILO touchscreen logs all the activity, which serves as an anti-theft feature by providing users with real-time information of what occurred when something went missing.
In this situation the owner of the safe (admin) would be able to see when and who accessed it.
- Banks want little to no liability and at best recover a small fraction of what you could potentially lose.
SILO gives you full control of your smart safe no matter where you are. It’s a beautiful thing always knowing you’re safe.
SILO also gives you the ability to display evidence of what happened around the time of the theft. Allowing users to act in real-time.
Be in control of your belongings with SILO.
