http://www.homealarmmonitoring.org/
10 Tricks Burglars Use to Tell if You Are Home
Burglars prefer to break into a home when no one is at home. To determine
whether the owners are home or not, burglars have come up with several
tricks for finding empty homes to burglarize. If homeowners can eliminate
some of these telltale signs of an empty house, they may decrease the chance
of being burglarized when they are gone.
1. Newspapers. Burglars will look for newspapers piling up in the
delivery tube or on a porch. Even two newspapers would be an indication that
the owners have been gone for awhile and not yet returned. Having your
newspaper delivery stopped or having a neighbor collect it and keep it for
you while your gone could prevent this clue from giving your absence away.
2. Mail in the mailbox. Just like the newspapers, if burglars find a
couples days worth of mail in a mailbox, that tells them that the owners of
this home are out town and likely a good pick for them. It is worth the
trouble to have your mail held by the post office or picked up by a neighbor
to keep your mailbox empty. This will also prevent possible theft of
valuable information like credit card statements from the mail box.
3. Overgrown lawns. If you are going to be away from home for a week or
more, your absence may become obvious by the lack of lawn care. Hiring
someone to keep your lawn mowed while you are gone can be a good investment
in home protection as well as making your neighbors happy.
4. No lights in the evening. Burglars will watch houses in a
neighborhood to see if there are any houses that are consistently without
lights when the other neighborhood houses are lit up. Some people leave some
lights on in the house whenever they were gone. An even better idea is
putting your lights on a timer to give the natural appearance of habitation
where lights are turned on in the evening and then off later at night.
5. Quiet. When a burglar suspects that a home may be unoccupied he will
still listen for the sound of activity once he gets close to the building
itself. The sound of a television, radio or music can be an indication that
someone is indeed in the house. Leaving a television or radio playing while
you are gone may provide enough of a concern in the mind of a burglar to
stop him from entering.
6. Garage windows. Looking through garage windows to see if there are
any vehicles inside is another way burglars can determine if a home is
empty. Add an empty garage to one or two of the other factors above and a
burglar can feel pretty safe entering your home. Many garages don't have
windows. If your garage does, you may want to consider blocking their view
from inside to eliminate this clue if all your vehicles will be gone when
you are gone.
7. Garage Doors. Many people leave their overhead garage door open when
they are home and closed when they are gone. If a burglar is watching a
neighborhood he may watch for this telltale sign. Simply eliminating this
habit from your home can prevent this sign being used by a potential
burglar.
8. Obituaries. This is a sad and unfortunately true source of burglary
targets. Burglars have been known to target the homes of families that are
gone for funerals. Asking someone to stay in your home while you're gone for
a funeral can provide you with some extra security.
9. Pets. If you have pets that are normally seen or heard around the
home. Burglars casing a neighborhood may take note if these pets are
suddenly absent when you board them during a vacation or weekend away.
10. Phone messages. A name on a mailbox and an address may be all that a
burglar needs to find your phone number as well. Having your last name
displayed anywhere outside your home may be telling more than your realize.
If your message states that you simply 'can't come to the phone' a caller
doesn't know for sure why you haven't answered. A burglar will be listening
for a message that specifically states that you are away from home. It is
best never to leave such a specific message as your recorded message when
you are gone.
Burglars will seldom count on just one of these items to determine that a
home is unoccupied. Do your part in deterring him by making it difficult for
him to tell for sure whether you are at home or not.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------------------
--------------------------
Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list,
[email protected].
--------------------------
Brooks Isoldi, editor
[email protected]
http://www.intellnet.org
Post message: [email protected]
Subscribe: [email protected]
Unsubscribe: [email protected]
*** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has
not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of
The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT
YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the
included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of
intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods,
techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other
intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes
only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material
as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use
this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,'
you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
For more information go to:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtmlYahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
[email protected]
[email protected]
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[email protected]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
