People have always used sales tricks to get deals over the line and the security sector is no stranger to cowboy tactics, however it now seems some online suppliers have taken to using AI technology to rope in unsuspecting customers
If you’ve ever bought double glazing, you’ll know the routine. First off, they’re in your area and they’ve got a special offer on. Next you sit through all the spiel and spin before they give you a price three times what they actually need to sell it for. You say, this price is too high, so they go and make a phone call to the office to ask their manager what they are allowed to go down to. This second price, they tell you, only applies until they leave the house, but you still hold back. A day later they phone you to say that, due to above average sales in the area, they can go down to a much more reasonable price, but only if you can have a sign outside your house showing who the window company is – and that’s when you buy in.
Security is not the same, it is usually a grudge purchase. Along with some insurance policies or service contracts it is one of those things that we buy but hope we never need. There has to be a level of trust when it comes to buying security as, more often than not, your customers don’t really know what they need, they just know what the issue is they want resolving.
Of course, there are homeowners who are more tech savvy that others and are able to fit their own systems to gain a lower level of protection, and they usually know that buying a known brand from a reputable supplier is the safest route. Unfortunately, the DIY sector is full of brands that have a cute name or products that look very similar to others and quite often these purchases lead to an unsatisfactory performance and obsolescence within a couple of years.
That all being said, as professional installers, you’ll already know this story, it’s probably one you come up against with your domestic customers asking you to either replace a system they bought online or to fit it for them as they can’t read the Chinese instructions on their Temu bargain. Even I get asked if I can advise on which of the online cameras people should buy and if I can fit it for them.
So even with all of that going on, it is now even more disappointing that well-intentioned customers are facing crafty marketing tricks using the latest technology available to security spivs, AI.
What makes the videos even more dodgy is that the “consultant” in one appears to be certified by industry bodies as he is clearly depicted wearing SIA, BSIA and UKAS design badges
This month, the algorithm on the PSi social media channels resulted in us seeing a few videos claiming to show police officers decrying video doorbells, home alarms and professional CCTV systems in favour of a plug-in camera that sticks to the inside of a window. Now, you or I would recognise instantly that this is an AI generated video and know that the police would never recommend such a system instead of professionally installed kit, but social media scrollers might not.
What makes the videos even more dodgy is that the “consultant” in one appears to be certified by industry bodies as he is clearly depicted wearing SIA, BSIA and UKAS design badges. Meanwhile, the police officer in question is wearing a force helmet badge on his chest where his name tag would be. Both chaps look like they are genuine figures of authority which is what the scammers hope will deceive the trusting public who take the claims at face value.
We know that no industry is clean of chancers, however it is very disappointing that something like this is going on to try and flog cheap cameras that may not provide adequate protection in times of need and it’s really annoying that the tricksters have uncontrolled access to the entire market via online platforms.
What is equally galling is that both videos we’ve seen dismiss the benefits of professional security systems, thus devaluing the importance and reputation of the very technologies and companies that would have provided the robust, certified protection that customers required.
