Robbed

[Nebulous's iconNebulous]

Last night while I was at work, my neighbor's house was broken into (she was at work too). She said they stole thousands of dollars worth of jewelry, electronics, her purse (which she accidentally left at home that day, what are the odds?) with all her credit cards, ID's, social security, etc, etc. They stole a small safe she had in her closet too. I forgot what else she told me. She came over when I got home to use the computer so she could cancel all her credit and bank cards.

I think it must have been someone who knows her because its a nicer neighborhood and why would they pick her house at random? It looks just like the other hundred houses on the street.. I told her she needs to think about who she lets in her house. Who she knows.. Who might talk to their friends about what is in her house, etc etc. I know she has a nice job and makes decent money and has nice things. I am probably not the only person she knows who knows that.

Although it could be a random thing you never know.



Now I am all paranoid about my own security. I have wood in the tracks of the windows so nobody can push them open. She just had cheap screw on locks that could pop off with a little force. The only way into my place is by breaking the window. Even if they got in, I don’t have anything really valuable. I always leave my outside lights on and sometimes I leave a radio on so there is noise inside or I'll leave a hall light on or something.. When I left this morning, I had checked everything to make sure it was all locked up tight.

 

[Jazzy]

Last night while I was at work, my neighbor's house was broken into (she was at work too). She said they stole thousands of dollars worth of jewelry, electronics, her purse (which she accidentally left at home that day, what are the odds?) with all her credit cards, ID's, social security, etc, etc. They stole a small safe she had in her closet too. I forgot what else she told me. She came over when I got home to use the computer so she could cancel all her credit and bank cards.

Sorry but something does not sound true to me in all of this. A lot of people do this (themselves) to collect insurance money. They have a friend come over to 'stage a robbery. The person collecting the insurance money, pays the break in friend a certain percent. The give away on this one to me is that on the same day this happened, she accidently forgot her purse. Don't know any women who doesn't make sure they have their purse when they leave the house. Bogus is what I call what she's saying.

 

[Rapunzel]

They say that a professional thief can be inside a property in less than a minute. Apparently most burglaries are also committed during the day when people are at work, rather than at night when people are asleep, as most people assume.



My friend was robbed last Christmas. She went to a New Years Eve party. She also accidently left her bag at home with purse and credit cards but she didn't bother going back for them because she reasoned that she was going to a friends house party and she wouldn't need any money and that her purse was perfectly safe at home. She came back at 2am to find her back door wide open and her sons christmas games consul and games gone plus electrical items, jewellery, her purse, etc.



They did eventually catch the oik who robbed her. It turned out to be a twenty-something man from 2 streets away who hocked her stuff for drug money.



I think they said that most robberies these days are like that, random robberies for drug money.



My friend got her money back from the insurance people, although it took a while. She said the worst part was replacing her sons games. The insurance company said she should have taken out the little piece of paper on every game box with the title and coloured picture on and kept them separately. Yeah, who does that?



I think you have to be philosophical about it. Firstly, be prepared. Have a notebook with all your credit card numbers in, with expiry dates. They need the info to cancel the cards quickly. Make a note of the date. (Stupid I know. But I had my handbag stolen in London on January 12th one year and the Bank (later on) tried to insist it was stolen in April! Madness! It also means they won't pay you back any money the thief spent, unless you are absolutely positive of the date it was stolen. Write it down! You soon forget!)



Hide anything precious. Usually something is worth more because of sentimental value rather than actual value. If you can't replace it, hide it.

Don't hide things in obvious places i.e., under the mattress, down the side of the sofa, etc. Professional thieves check these places out.



If you're really good you could list everything of value and what it's worth. Keep photos of valuable items. Store it all on your pc in a file. But also put a copy of the file on a disc or memory stick, etc and store it somewhere else - at work or at your parents home, etc. So in case of fire you still have all your details, including insurance policy numbers and credit card details, etc.



Make sure your insurance policy is 'New for old'. That way they give you back what the item costs now, not what it cost when you bought it 5 years ago.



When I go away I have 2 light things(?) which I screw into my light bulb sockets and then you screw your light bulb back into it. Don't know what it's called, sorry, but it turns your light on and off randomly for different lengths of time. I put one upstairs and one down. The lights come on for minutes or hours at a time so it looks as if someone is home.



I think once you've done what you can to protect your home, you have to be philosophical and realise that things that get stolen are just things and are replaceable. So long as your loved ones are safe and well, anything else can be replaced. Its not great. You feel violated when you've been burgled. But it happens. You can take precautions but it can still happen to you. But being insured helps. It means you can replace things. And really, so long as you and yours are safe, thats all that really matters.

 

[Rapunzel]

To lighten the mood . . .



Yesterday I read on the news about a couple who caught a burglar in their house.



Apparently they had a couple of friends round for the evening. One of the men told a really good joke . . . and they heard someone laughing upstairs!



How creepy and crazy is that???

 

[Nebulous's iconNebulous]

Sorry but something does not sound true to me in all of this. A lot of people do this (themselves) to collect insurance money. They have a friend come over to 'stage a robbery. The person collecting the insurance money, pays the break in friend a certain percent. The give away on this one to me is that on the same day this happened, she accidently forgot her purse. Don't know any women who doesn't make sure they have their purse when they leave the house. Bogus is what I call what she's saying.

She told me she doesnt have renters insurance. Who is going to pay her?



I dont have renters insurance either. I wonder how much it costs.

 

[Raven]

Last night while I was at work, my neighbor's house was broken into (she was at work too). She said they stole thousands of dollars worth of jewelry, electronics, her purse (which she

I think it must have been someone who knows her because its a nicer neighborhood and why would they pick her house at random? It looks just like the other hundred houses on the street..

Thats sucks, but maybe her house was random. It may have been a random hit. You just don't know.



I hope they catch the bastard(s) I have a friend in the same position. He got all his cameras stolen when he was out for the evening. they took £3,000 - £4,000 worth of camera gear and his hardrive.

Ohh and by the way, Sometimes I have forgotten my wallet.. Doesn't mean she staged it.

 

[Tom]

She told me she doesnt have renters insurance. Who is going to pay her?



I dont have renters insurance either. I wonder how much it costs.

Renters insurance is usually cheap. But make sure if you have any valuable things in your house, you add it up to get the proper amount of coverage. Things such as antiques, expensive rugs, paintings, etc. would be good to have covered.



But I agree with Jazzy- what woman leaves their purse home? Now I can see if you have a separate wallet for your Social Security and Birth Certificate, but a purse with money, credit cards and ID? BS!



Hope she gets everything back and nobody steals her identity.

 

[Cranos]

I'm not worried, I own almost nothing anyway.



Sucks for your neighbour though.

 

[Nebulous's iconNebulous]

She put some big noticable boards in the tracks of the windows and intalled some cheap alarm system that just makes noise if u open a door or window but it does not notify any alarm company.

 

[Jazzy]

She put some big noticable boards in the tracks of the windows and intalled some cheap alarm system that just makes noise if u open a door or window but it does not notify any alarm company.

She should have thought about this before she got robbed. This story still stinks in my opinion. Any way, renters insurance is cheap and she could have put in a claim for the amount that that was stolen if she was covered. I would never rent without insuring my personal property.