Roll calls and home security

After reading an article recently about someone getting hold of a list of newspaper "vacation holds" and robbing homes, it occurred to me that we should all be more careful in our own roll call threads. Basically we are announcing that we will be out of town during a specific time period. Often lists are posted on the threads with those gathering for the Meet and Greet. I suggest those lists not include last names and for myself, I've changed my residence in my profile to just California. Maybe if you are a Smith or Jones living in Chicago, it would make no difference. But these days, I think one can't be too careful.

Good advice. That's why we never have the mail stopped or the paper delivery suspended -- we have a neighbor and a relative get those every day and check on our home. You just never know who has access to that info, and I don't want to announce to the world 'rob me'.

Very good idea.. gonna change my location too... It never ceases to amaze me how many people get on Facebook and tell the world they are going on vacation! :confused:

Mydaughter and son in law watch our house when we are gone, and he's a local Sheriff, my house is safe.

Sometimes even the best measures you can take are simply not enough. There was a well publicized story in 2010 where passengers home were being robbed while they were away on vacation by their vacation planner.

STORY HERE

We have never used anything other than Pennsylvania as our location, and have never used our last name online, on any online forums. You can never be too careful.

I agree we have to be careful. Another thing you can do is post on the roll call that you have a house sitter. I actually do have a house sitter. But just stating that you have someone staying at your house may discourage bad people.

I never post my real name or even the city I live in online. There are just too many people that can use that information against you whether it is stealing identities or robbing your house.

Has anyone ever posted on Cruise Critic that their home was burglarized while they were on a cruise due to information they posted?

What's a newspaper? :)

This is why I use the roll call here not not on facebook. No one knows me here :D

This is why I use the roll call here not not on facebook. No one knows me here :D

I can understand the reluctance to post vacation info and applaud those who take precautions - these days you can never be too careful.

As for us... with four grown sons - two of which are living at home and studying to be police officers - and a hi-tech security system in our home, along with living on a VERY neighborly cul-de-sac where several homeowners are stay at home moms (think Mrs Kravitz! :D) we aren't worried in the least... our house is probably more secure than the mayor's house!

Actually, our home was robbed while we were away for our son's wedding because we DIDN'T stop the newspaper for 3 days.

Since then (2 years ago), we have security stickers and yard signs at all entrances to our house, and we installed a safe bolted to the concrete slab. If anyone broke in again they would get two decent TVs. We have what we call our "super secret hiding place" where we put our laptops. You'd have to be tearing down the house to find it.

And, we live between a Highway Patrol Officer and a prison guard. Bad guys rob when they think no one is home in the neighborhood: usually late morning or early afternoon.

If you don't have anyone reliable that you know for sure will pick up your paper, you are more likely to be robbed because a newspaper or two are sitting on your driveway. Next trip I'm just going to cancel the paper and restart it when we get back.

Also, stopping your mail and having it held at the post office is a good idea if you don't have anyone to pick it up for you. I stop ours online.

Your home was robbed?? Or burglarized?

I have no problem with posting on roll calls or FB. I don't feel either of these sites will cause someone to stalk me and try to find my address and come burglarize my home. On FB all my settings are strictly for my friends. But mostly because if my home were to be burglarized while we are gone it's not because of my online activities. It's because of our neighborhood. We are just targeted in our area because it used to be a more affluent area and it is still perceived to be.

Hi All

Good or bad the internet is here to stay, a little bit of work, and you can find out much, one poster up set me with what he had posted so I set about finding out details about him,

first his screen name,

this brought up similar screen names on other chat rooms etc

quick scan and one said he liked cruising, more digging gives little bits of info join them together and search again,

was not long before I had his picture, job details, full address , details of the car he was selling, pic of his house and other info.

When I met him I asked how he enjoyed his of job of ...... living in.... and did you get your car ...... the guy ran away and never spoke to me again, which was no loss as he was not the type of person you would want to know,

yours Shogun

I have no problem with posting on roll calls or FB. I don't feel either of these sites will cause someone to stalk me and try to find my address and come burglarize my home. On FB all my settings are strictly for my friends. But mostly because if my home were to be burglarized while we are gone it's not because of my online activities. It's because of our neighborhood. We are just targeted in our area because it used to be a more affluent area and it is still perceived to be.

I also have my facebook setting as friends only. But a lot of these "friends" I do not know well enough to completely trust to let them know I'll be gone with an empty house for a week. Some are old classmates and some are more acquaintances. Also living in the country way off the road doesn't help. Even they we do have a security system.

Here's another tip....never put your home address on your luggage! Put a cell phone # and maybe your name....but if you MUST put an address, use your business address!

Anyone handling your bags could conceivably call someone in your town and let them know you just got on a flight for your vacation or business!!!

Your home was robbed?? Or burglarized?

Not too sure if I understand the difference.

Our back door was smashed in, they emptied my jewelry on the bed and took what they wanted. I had ALL my good stuff with me because I wasn't sure what I was going to wear to the rehersal dinner, etc. for the weekend. We also had both laptops with us.

They were packing up a pillowcase with other miscellaneous stuff when the police arrived in the neighborhood.

We also live in a newer and more expensive neighborhood, so people are very observant of strange cars and people. Someone reported a strange car parked on the street several doors down. Turned out to be the lookout guy with a walkie talkie. He alerted the bad guy in our house, who dropped the pillowcase and ran out the back and over the fence.

He got some miscellaneous gold jewelry.

We now also have automatic lights inside two rooms visible from the street that go on and off at different times in the evening. It always looks like there's someone at home in our house all evening long, 365 days a year.

Hi All

 

Good or bad the internet is here to stay, a little bit of work, and you can find out much, one poster upset me with what he had posted so I set about finding out details about him,

 

first his screen name,

 

this brought up similar screen names on other chat rooms etc

 

quick scan and one said he liked cruising, more digging gives little bits of info join them together and search again,

 

was not long before I had his picture, job details, full address , details of the car he was selling, pic of his house and other info.

 

When I met him I asked how he enjoyed his of job of ...... living in.... and did you get your car ...... the guy ran away and never spoke to me again, which was no loss as he was not the type of person you would want to know,

 

 

 

yours Shogun

SERIOUSLY????!!! :eek:

Here in the US we call that cyber-stalking.

SERIOUSLY????!!! :eek:

 

Here in the US we call that cyber-stalking.

It's not stalking. It is information gathering.

The information Shogun gathered is but a fraction of the information that Internet companies have gathered about you.

Not too sure if I understand the difference.

 

Our back door was smashed in, they emptied my jewelry on the bed and took what they wanted. I had ALL my good stuff with me because I wasn't sure what I was going to wear to the rehersal dinner, etc. for the weekend. We also had both laptops with us.

 

They were packing up a pillowcase with other miscellaneous stuff when the police arrived in the neighborhood.

 

We also live in a newer and more expensive neighborhood, so people are very observant of strange cars and people. Someone reported a strange car parked on the street several doors down. Turned out to be the lookout guy with a walkie talkie. He alerted the bad guy in our house, who dropped the pillowcase and ran out the back and over the fence.

 

He got some miscellaneous gold jewelry.

 

We now also have automatic lights inside two rooms visible from the street that go on and off at different times in the evening. It always looks like there's someone at home in our house all evening long, 365 days a year.

That is a burglary. A robbery is when someone steals by force, therefor the victim must be present for it to be a robbery.

Either our son or the dog sitter are here when we're gone. Also my neighbor (a retired cop) stops in every afternoon to walk the dogs and my next door neighbor who is a SAHM knows we're gone and keeps an eye. Plus we live in a gated, guarded community and I've got an alarm system.

Between two 80 pound dogs who don't particularly enjoy strangers coming to the door, the guard at the entrance who isn't going to let anyone in unless they are on our guest list or live here, observant neighbors, a noisy alarm, and someone in the house from dinnertime until morning plus at some point mid-afternoon, I'm not particularly worried.

Around here our burglars have not gotten that sophisticated.

They don't care if you are home or away.