Protect yourself.

[lja440]

OK, we all know about porch pirates.  But as bad as they are there is another element that will be out in force this time of year. Some will be looking  for homes to break into. 

DO NOT advertise the items that you have by putting boxes from high end items out for trash or recycling at your curb. PLEASE take them to the recycling centers or break them down and put them in a black bag. 

[ed8108]

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@lja440 wrote: 

DO NOT advertise the items that you have by putting boxes from high end items out for trash or recycling at your curb. PLEASE take them to the recycling centers or break them down and put them in a black bag. 

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It's a real shame that it becomes advisable to live in a manner, exercising an abundance of caution.

[lja440]

True but some caution can be healthy. 

[etsc-68]

What is this really? I am not getting this. Is this something really serious? I am worried now

[lja440]

Ok. There are opportunists out there. I'm sure that you have heard of porch pirates. Those people who look for delivery trucks and snatch packages left on porches. Well there are also those who watch houses, what is put out for trash pick up is an indication of what can be in the house. Say a large flat screen TV, boxes from game systems, ect. Then they just wait until you leave home (if you are lucky) and break in. Admittedly this isn't going to happen in every case but you can minimize the chance by NOT advertising your new items by NOT leaving the boxes at the curb.

[siamdao]

We live in Thailand, fortunately the Postal Service Here has a not home not deliver policy 🙂 

[epowerbargains]

Good reminder, thank you!

We just installed a ring & we get notifications of porch thefts in our area - along with video of the actual theft. It is really stunning how often it happens and how bold the thiefs are as they take their ill gotten gain. In one video, the lady spent about a minute rearranging the back seat of her car (full of stolen packages) so she had room for her newly acquired loot. Another lady had bright green hair & her face was very clear as was her distinctive clothing. It would be interesting to know if they are at all aware that they have been recorded and the video is being shared with the neighborhood & in each case the police.  

[a_c_green]

When it seems like half the houses on our block bought Black Friday flatscreens, I'm not sure that that's really telling the bad guys anything that they wouldn't assume already. 

I would suggest if you're really concerned about advertising a particular piece of packaging, either turn it inside-out before putting it in the recycling, or at least wait for the morning of your trash pickup before putting it outside, rather than leaving it out the night before.

[princess_phones]

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@siamdao wrote:

We live in Thailand, fortunately the Postal Service Here has a not home not deliver policy 🙂 

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No, not delivered packages but the empty boxes that held a new PlayStation or TV that show what was inside and is now inside your home. Here in the US many people have trash service where we roll out large bins to the curb the night before weekly “trash day” so the garbage trucks can come collect the trash. 

The warning is that thieves might scout your neighborhood looking for the empty packaging in your trash cans so they can break into your home to steal these items, so take the packaging to a recycling area or the dump yourself.

[readabouthorses]

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@lja440 wrote:

OK, we all know about porch pirates.  But as bad as they are there is another element that will be out in force this time of year. Some will be looking  for homes to break into. 

DO NOT advertise the items that you have by putting boxes from high end items out for trash or recycling at your curb. PLEASE take them to the recycling centers or break them down and put them in a black bag. 

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And when you take them to the recycling center be sure to cut off or black out your address on the box if this was something you had delivered.