‘Somebody shows up at your house…’: Retired secret service agent shares the 1 thing you should be doing if you don’t have a pet

If you don't have the budget for a real security system, this secret service agent says this Alexa barking trick is the next best thing. But does it actually work?

Depending on the scale and features of your security system, it can easily run you a few hundred dollars to set up.

If you don't want to drop the cash, here's an easy way to hack the virtual assistant device you likely already have.

Tip from a security expert

In a viral video with more than 688,000 views, retired Secret Service agent Scott Bryson (@scottbrysonbts) shared his outside-the-box idea on how to secure your home.

"Some of you are going to think this is stupid or goofy. I can't wait to see the comments. But, some of you might like it, " Bryson says. "And I don't care if you like it or don't like it. Hopefully, this might help somebody."

In the video, Bryson says that if somebody knocks on your door while you're home alone and you're not expecting anybody, you can do this to ward them off.

"First of all, don't go to the door. You don't owe anybody jack... People prey on your innocence," Bryson says.

Instead, if you have an at-home assistance system, you can tell it to bark like a dog. (If that doesn't work, try a YouTube video with a dog barking.) He specifies that you need to add the adjective "mean" or "angry" so you get a convincing sound that may ward them off.

Is this a real thing?

Yes, at least it used to be.

For a while, Amazon had the Alexa Guard, which turned your Echo speakers into a DIY security system. You could sync it with your lights to turn them on and off, listen for general sound activities, sound a siren, and even have a fake dog bark, PC Mag reported.

However, Amazon discontinued Alexa Guard and replaced it with Alexa Emergency Assist, which costs $5.99 per month or $59 per year.

In addition to having some of the Guard features, Assist can detect smoke and CO alarms going off, connect to a trained urgent response agent to request dispatch or pass on info to first responders, or reach out to emergency contacts.

However, according to customers on a forum page, the dog barking feature was discontinued with the introduction of Alexa Emergency Assist.

If you're really committed to a barking dog sound, there are motion-activated dog-barking alarms you can get online for $50 to $90.

Commenters react

"My granny would leave a pair of muddy men's work boots by her front door as a deterrent," a top comment read.

"Never ever answer the door. If it’s important, they’ll call," a person said.

"I don’t have any Alexa. I just told Siri to bark like an angry dog. She said I can’t do that. So I said play a video of an angry dog barking. She played the song talk dirty to me by Poison," another wrote.

"I had a motion activated barker at my front window. It would bark....and bark loud if anyone walked within 8' of it. it worked thru dense curtains. I had it on 24/7," a commenter shared.

@scottbrysonbts What To Do If You Don’t Have A Pet… #safetytip #outsidethebox #dogbark #trending #scottbrysonbts ♬ original sound - Scott Bryson

The Daily Dot reached out to Bryson for comment via email and Instagram direct message and Amazon via email.

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The post ‘Somebody shows up at your house…’: Retired secret service agent shares the 1 thing you should be doing if you don’t have a pet appeared first on The Daily Dot.

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