Thursday, February 18, 2010

13 Things Your Burglar Won't Tell You

While I was stalking looking at a few blogs, I came across Cindy's blog Full Of Light and she posted this list of things a burglar won't tell you.

Get a load of these:

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1. Of course I look familiar. I was here just last week cleaning your carpets, painting your shutters, or delivering your new refrigerator.

2. Hey, thanks for letting me use the bathroom when I was working in your yard last week. While I was in there, I unlatched the back window to make my return a little easier.

3. Love those flowers. That tells me you have taste ... and taste means there are nice things inside. Those yard toys your kids leave out always make me wonder what type of gaming system they have.

4. Yes, I really do look for newspapers piled up on the driveway. And I might leave a pizza flyer in your front door to see how long it takes you to remove it.

5. If it snows while you're out of town, get a neighbor to create car and foot tracks into the house. Virgin drifts in the driveway are a dead giveaway..

6. A good security company alarms the window over the sink. And the windows on the second floor, which often access the master bedroom-and your jewelry. It's not a bad idea to put motion detectors up there too.

7. I always knock first.. If you answer, I'll ask for directions somewhere or offer to clean your gutters. (Don't take me up on it.)

8. Do you really think I won't look in your sock drawer? I always check dresser drawers, the bedside table, and the medicine cabinet.

9. Helpful hint: I almost never go into kids' rooms.

10. A loud TV or radio can be a better deterrent than the best alarm system. If you're reluctant to leave your TV on while you're out of town, you can buy a $35 device that works on a timer and simulates the flickering glow of a real television. (Find it at faketv.com.)

11. The two things I hate most: loud dogs and nosy neighbors.

12. Avoid announcing your vacation on your Facebook page. It's easier than you think to look up your address.

13. If you don't answer when I knock, I try the door. Occasionally, I hit the jackpot and walk right in.

Sources: Convicted burglars in North Carolina, Oregon, California, and Kentucky; security consultant Chris McGoey, who runs crimedoctor.com; and Richard T. Wright, a criminology professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, who interviewed 105 burglars for his book Burglars on the Job


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Doesn't that just give you the heebie-jeebies!?

Thanks for posting this Cindy - I hope you don't mind that I lifted it from your blog!

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11 comments:

  1. Yes, I knew there was a reason I didn't try to grow flowers around our house!! :)
    But seriously, ugh totally gives me the heebie jeebies!

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  2. Wow...those are scary! It always gives me the creeps when someone working on the house asks to use the bathroom, but I never thought to check the window.

    I don't Facebook, but I have noticed a lot of people on Twitter tweeting their family vacations. Yikes!

    Good reminders!

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  3. Good points! They should have also mentioned how people leave laptops, purses, and other valuables in plain view of windows all the time! Thanks for sharing.

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  4. Someone emailed this to me I think! I was laughing but not really.....

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  5. Cah-reepy!!! And, big ol' pat on the back my friend, for your "Integrity" with blogging! You know...the ol' "giving credit where credit it due"!!

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  6. Wow, very intersting, thanks for sharing, from now I'll be putting my inexistent goods in the children's room ;)

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  7. Gee, where was this when I came home from dropping my son off at school to discover footprints and a crushed dog-biscuit on my hall floor? We're going to be traveling to NY and I'm about 100% certain we'll come back to a ransacked house.

    THANKS KATE now I'm all paranoid.

    See, I have a chronic problem... I trust people. I trust that dude wearing bling with his pants hanging down to his knees and 15 gold teeth and a bulge in his coat where a gun would be. I stroll past that guy and say, "Hey! How ya doin?" like he's an old buddy. I always think, "Yikes, I'd better get out of the way so he doesn't have to step off the sidewalk" not, "I had better cross the street so he doesn't mug me" so I do stupid things like invite the pizza guy to step inside because it's cold and I don't want him to freeze while I look for a pen.

    I'm so dumb.

    So I'm super scared now and I don't give a hoot about about TV or (hah!) my jewelry (hah! I wear it all... and by "it all" I mean, "my wedding ring") but I'm so, so so sosososososososo afraid of coming home while someone is IN my house. I mean, someone already stole all of our old tax documents and stuff so my identity is as good as gone, but oy, the idea of putting my babes in danger... CREEEEEEEPY.

    THANKS KATE. :-p

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  8. My dad would always leave the TV on when we went on trips. I never understood that! Until now! So scary what others will do!

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  9. Scary!! I hate the world has come to this but it is sooo true! These type things would be the reason I am a self declared scaredy cat! You cant trust anyone or be to cautious. Thank you for posting this. :)

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  10. Oh too funny. But scary. We have sensor lights we leave on. Who knows if that does anything!

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  11. Great list:) Thanks for sharing it!

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