Advisory: CMS Phone Number Being Flagged as "Spam"

We have learned that some spam blockers have been incorrectly marking one of the Criticom Monitoring Services outbound phone numbers as "spam". This is a serious issue, as it is very important for all our customers with central station service to be able to receive incoming calls from CMS.

If you are not aware, Criticom Monitoring Services (CMS) is the official monitoring partner of Alarm Grid. Anyone with an alarm monitoring plan from Alarm Grid who receives central monitoring service has their security system connected with CMS. If you have central station service from us, then it is crucial that you are always able to reliably receive incoming phone calls from CMS.

The phone number in question that has been being incorrectly labeled as "spam" is (800) 432-1429. This is not a spam number. This is not a telemarketer. This is Criticom trying to contact you with important information regarding your home or business security system. If you ever see this number calling in, you should make sure to answer. There are also other phone numbers that Criticom may use to call you. But, to our knowledge, this is the only one we have been seeing marked as "spam".

For a reference, below are all of the numbers that CMS may use to try and contact you:

• Longwood, FL: (800) 432-1429
• Manasquan, NJ: (800) 631-2299
• Cypress, CA: (714) 373-7000, (800) 468-4640, and (800) 482-9800

We strongly recommend that you add ALL of these numbers to the contacts list on your phone. That way, if CMS ever contacts you, then you will know that the call is from them. Remember, you may not always receive calls from the CMS monitoring center closest to you. If one office is ever down or unavailable, calls will be re-routed to one of the other two (2) monitoring centers. This redundancy ensures that CMS is always able to receive incoming alarm signals. This reliability is a big reason why we have chosen CMS as our monitoring partner.

If you use a spam blocker on your phone, that is fine. But you must make sure to "whitelist" this number so that calls can come through successfully. To do this, you should contact your phone service provider and make sure that this number is not blocked. If you use an app on your phone to block numbers, use that application to whitelist the number. We have found that this issue mostly affects T-Mobile users who have the new Name ID App, but users from other carriers who have spam-blocking apps may be affected as well.

Remember, CMS will call you whenever there is an urgent event regarding your security system. This can include a burglary or life safety alarm. If an alarm occurs on your system when it is not warranted, you will need to answer the incoming call from CMS and provide your false alarm password. Otherwise, the trained operator will follow the instructed action listed on your account. This usually involves dispatching the local authorities. If the incoming call is blocked as "spam", then you won't be able to answer the call, and you may receive unnecessary emergency dispatch. This can result in a major inconvenience for your local authorities and heavy fines for you. At Alarm Grid, we always do our part to prevent false alarms. You must do your part as well. Always make sure that you can receive calls from CMS.

If you have any questions or concerns about this issue, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. One of our top priorities is making sure that you can reliably communicate with our monitoring station partner. The best way to contact us is to email support@alarmgrid.com. You are also welcome to call us at (888) 818-7728 during our normal business hours of 9am to 8pm EST M-F.

Remember, our team is here to make sure that you always feel confident about the operation of your alarm system and the response of our central station partner. Thank you for being a valued Alarm Grid customer, and we look forward to hearing from you.