Advice from Ex-Burglars: Stop Making Break-ins Easy
July 20, 2010 – 1:41 pm
For home security advice, the best information is often from ex-burglars. After all, they do have the most credible perspective since they used to break into homes just like yours. If you think putting your key in a hideaway rock is the least of your security concerns, recommendations and suggestions from reformed house burglars will definitely shake up your lackadaisical position.
So what are we all doing wrong? Well, in addition to hidden keys, careless homeowners also leave windows open and Twitter their whereabouts openly. In addition, we rely on our hesitant and sometimes oblivious neighbors to save us from break-ins. These are definitely areas that we all need to work on, and burglary statistics only validate this.
The majority of ex-burglars agree that household break-ins are simple, and even though there are new security systems and obstacles, no job is impossible. This admission might make you raise your eyebrows.
Although you might think burglars are common crooks who have no education and just want to sell someone’s expensive possessions for drugs or cash, these individuals are smarter than you might think. These types of criminals actually do their homework by researching a target home ahead of time. How do they do this without really knowing you? Well, in addition to casing your home from a far, they also look to social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Foursquare, etc. to determine where you’re at and how long you will be away. Of course, they can also figure out that you’re away if a sticky note is left on your door or if the mail is piling up.
In a research project performed by Home Insurance, almost half of ex-burglars revealed that nosy neighbors were not an issue. For about 28 percent of the time, neighbors ignore or pretend not to see what is happening. Think about it from their perspective…isn’t it easier not to get involved?
The viewpoint from a reformed house burglar is priceless, and it makes you realize how susceptible everyone and anyone is to a break-in.
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Tags: ex-burglar advice, home security tips, reformed house burglars