Tag Archive for: home invasion

A traveler was in a bus station and put his bag down for 2 seconds to get some food and the bag disappeared.  He called the police and they made their way down to the bus station.

The victim lost a laptop, black and white motorcycle jacket and a black Kiss concert T-shirt.

Now if I was a thief, which I’m not, and I stole something, I wouldn’t hang around the crime scene. My thinking is that’s probably a good way to get nabbed. So anyway the cops came and investigated.

So what do they see? A person walking around wearing a black and white motorcycle jacket and a black Kiss concert T-shirt.

The rest of the bags contents including the laptop, was hidden across the street at a car dealership.

Bags are stolen all the time. Pocket books off the back of chairs, laptop bags sitting next to you in a café or airport, and briefcases in a business luncheon. The list goes on. We think we are safe because people are generally honest. However predators lurk amongst the honest people and snap up their belongings in an instant.

One way thieves steal bags is via a “distraction crime”. They see your bag sitting to your left and they distract you on your right as their accomplice takes your bag.

To protect yourself without having to stress out and stare at a bag all day consider a few things:

Whenever putting a bag down, put it between your feet. The chances of someone taking it diminish.

If you must put it on a chair wrap the bags strap around a chair arm or leg.

Purchase a ‘Bag Alarm” which is like a mini home security system that affixes to your bag and senses movement alerting you to potential theft.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to Home Security Source discussing Home Security on NBC Boston. Disclosures.

When you think about home security you may not think about garage security because you don’t actually live it in. But a garage is often one of the best ways for the bad guy to break into your home, especially if it’s an attached garage.

Criminals scope out the exterior and seek the path of least resistance. If the garage has an entrance door and a garage door they will determine which is easiest to compromise.

An entrance door that has small windows is easily compromised when a little window near a door lock is smashed and the burglar reaches their hand through and opens the door.

Once they are in the garage they have access to the interior door which is often unlocked. I’ve seen footage of burglars breaking into a garage and using the homeowners own chainsaw to cut through a door or wall to gain access to the home. This method won’t trigger any interior door alarm sensors because the door is never opened.

Garage doors are easy to break into with a coat hanger as demonstrated in this video on YouTube. Another way would simply be to drill a hole thru the door and slide a coat hanger in pulling down on the emergency pull cord.

Both of these tactics can be remedied by installing a zip tie as demonstrated in this YouTube video.

In my garage my home security system includes a sensor on the door, so if the door is opened the alarm goes off. There is also a motion sensor in the garage so if all else fails the motion sensor picks up movement. And to document anything happening there is a home security camera connected to my ADT Pulse system.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to Home Security Source discussing ADTPulse on Fox News.

Every time I ask my butler to take out the trash or get me some Grey Poupon mustard he gives me lip. I’ve relegated him to cleaning my Bentley every day with a tooth brush.

When people think about protecting themselves from the bad guy, they mostly think about a stranger, someone not known to them who have evil intentions. However, all too often it is someone known to the victim.

The term “inside job” is of course when those known to the victim or institution are responsible for the crime.

Insiders are put in a position of trust. They have details at their disposal that enables them to pull off a heist with ease and those details may have them believe their chances of getting caught lessen.

Inside jobs are often played out in movies with an air of truth where a gangster works as a security guard or a bank teller feigns a robbery done by her boyfriend. When I was in high school, two kids I knew worked at a local gas station and had the bright idea to pocket the days proceeds and call the police to report as robbery.

They got away with it, for a day. Their boss was a hulking and imposing man and when he drilled them on what happened he noticed one of them cracking, then he pounded harder until they both broke.

AZCentral.com reports “A former butler of a billionaire socialite has been charged in connection with the 2007 home invasion at her estate, where authorities say the assailants injected her with what they claimed was poison in a failed plot to extort $8.5 million.

Three men dressed all in black, wearing hoods and carrying guns and what appeared to be accordion cases or small suitcases, snuck into the home. The victims were blindfolded and tied up in her bedroom while the assailants roamed the house looking for safes. Investigators believed that the men were familiar with the house because they knew its layout and apparently were aware that its elaborate alarm system either wasn’t working or wasn’t turned on that night.”

While the enemy here is the butler, the catalyst that fueled the crime was “trust”. Trust is an inherent trait we require to function. Without it we would cease to move forward.

And while you need to trust, you shouldn’t let your guard down. Contractors, baby sitters, house cleaners, family members, anyone knocking on your door, those in uniforms or holding badges and especially butlers! can all abuse trust.

Home security cameras, home security alarms and other layers of protection help keep those you trust honest.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to Home Security Source discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston.



NECN reports “a husband and wife from North Carolina are in court in Massachusetts charged with scamming their way into homes. Police say the couple stole from a house by posing as electrical inspectors. The 75-year-old homeowner says he and his wife were distracted by a woman while man ransacked their home. It turned out they were able to frighten their intruders away and nothing was stolen but investigators believe lots of other people were robbed by the couple in many other states.

“This is how they make their living.  This is what they do,” said the Deputy Chief. When they were picked up by police, they allegedly had more than $60,000 in cash and stolen goods with them as well as two children ages 8 and 10.”

What a mess.

This is a common trick a burglar may use to invade your home.  I did this on the Montel Williams Show to prove a point. It was real simple. I ring the door bell standing in the doorway with a clip board, measuring tape and wearing a tool belt, a green jumpsuit and have a badge saying I’m from the local water company. The homeowner, a woman says “Hello, how can I help you?” and I inform the homeowner that I’m with the water company and need to come inside to check the “colorization” and PH of their water.

Every door I knocked on the person let me in. Some people were a little more resistant, but I still got in.

The previous message isn’t a “How to” it’s a “Look for this” so don’t go getting any bright ideas Kojack.

We are a kind, trusting and civil species. We trust by default. We want to help, we want to accommodate and we don’t ever want to think “bad” is on the other side of the door or “bad” will ever happens to us.

There’s lots of bad out there. And sometimes it has kids in the car waiting. What a mess.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to Home Security Source discussing Home Invasions on Montel Williams.