Thieves are concocting crafty new ways of finding out when you are not at home, and they're things you may have never thought of in the past. ABC 4’s Kim Fischer shows you the brand new way thieves are monitoring what you do.
While Matt and Beth Robinson were on vacation, their home was being burglarized. Security cameras caught thieves ransacking their house, stealing everything in sight. They had no idea they were laying out a virtual welcome mat to these thieves. So, would you know if you were doing the same? What do you do to keep thieves at bay?
"I obviously lock all the doors, then we have a deadbolt for the main and then for outside I chain and lock the garage," said Utahn Chirs Fetters.
Homeowner Justin Franke had a different plan "just have friends check on the place leave the lights on in some rooms, not all of them."
Turns out, that may not be enough. Four men are all under arrest accused of burglarizing homes in the Los Angeles area. Police say they stole lists that showed who had put a vacation stop on their Los Angeles Times subscription. There could be up to 100 victims.
And if that’s not enough, thieves are targeting your Facebook posts too. If you're posting from the Grand Canyon or the beach, you're obviously not at home.
“You case the online profile, that's the modern way,” said former thief, Walter Shaw.
The FBI pinned more than 3000 home burglaries on Shaw. He now uses all that knowledge to help unsuspecting people like you.
“They should do the normal stuff they did 20 or 30 years ago. Just go on vacation without bragging about where their going or how they're going,” Shaw said about homeowners.
Another way to protect your home, use timers, but not the ones that go off at the same time each day. Shaw said make sure they turn off at random times during the day and night. And watch out for those expensive flower pots, decorations, and kids’ toys outside. Shaw said that usually means there are nice things inside as well. Finally, if it snows while you're away, have a neighbor create tracks in the snow, and ask them to pick up your mail and newspapers that way you don’t have to subscribe to a list.
