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Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,430
Registered: ‎03-11-2010

i think i just unwittingly let someone case my house

so, here goes. we are new to town,  in a VERY small village.

(smaller than a town) and are across the street from the high school, so many people know of this house. built in the '80, and one of the nicest this side of town.  

        knock on the door, and a woman, wants to know about the wire racks i left out by the garbage pickup. all the pieces there.  any immediately goes into about how struggling she is, down on her luck, can't get a job. 

  i'm thinking can't get a job??? you must be kidding. Everyplace in town is hiring.

like a idiot, i let her come in, so i can show her what pieces are missing from the racks. Pantry is near the door, but her eyes are EVERYWHERE.  can she do cleaning for me, or any other work. (get into the house) 

Upside, is in the livingroom, there are no tv's or electronics.  just furniture, and my VAST array of chachkies. nothing of value. the bad news is the livingroom is rather vast, and impressive.  

i thought that the story kept jumping from one thing to another, and you could tell she was a smoker. Hard to be dirt poor, and desperate and afford smokes.  thinking about calling our police chief, and having a chat with him.

am i being paranoid?

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 7,898
Registered: ‎05-15-2014

Re: i think i just unwittingly let someone case my house

No and you should never have let her into the house.  You cannot be too careful these days.   If you see her again around your home you should call the police.  Good luck.

Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,054
Registered: ‎05-01-2020

Re: i think i just unwittingly let someone case my house

No, I don't think you're being paranoid. I'd call the police and give a description (of her and what happened) in case others have reported the same thing. I'd also let your neighbors know of this and get some cameras in place.

Respected Contributor
Posts: 4,502
Registered: ‎03-15-2021

Re: i think i just unwittingly let someone case my house

@kittyloo To ease your mind call the police chief and tell him what happened. In a small village he will know the players and can either put your mind at ease or increase patrols around your home. You can't unring a bell, but you can prevent it from ringing again.

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,457
Registered: ‎08-28-2010

Re: i think i just unwittingly let someone case my house

Not a good thing to do- admit a stranger into your house. It couldn't hurt to contact law enforcement to let them know someone is going door to door in the village.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 69,390
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: i think i just unwittingly let someone case my house

There isn't a thing the police can do.  The woman hasn't done a thing wrong.  All she did was enter your home at your invitation.  I wouldn't want her to be the victim of police harrassment. 

New Mexico☀️Land Of Enchantment
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Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,901
Registered: ‎05-27-2015

Re: i think i just unwittingly let someone case my house

@kittyloo  Call the cops and let them know what happened. Buy the surveillance cameras (today) that install in minutes. If you can't get them delivered today, you can buy them at Walmart or Best Buy. You won't feel easy until you take some proactive steps.

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,452
Registered: ‎07-10-2011

Re: i think i just unwittingly let someone case my house

In small towns everyone usually knows everyone. The police chief should be able to tell her if the person is harmless and if there is anything to worry about.

 

I would make the call.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 36,050
Registered: ‎08-19-2010

Re: i think i just unwittingly let someone case my house

police don't care, no crime no foul.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 12,295
Registered: ‎03-27-2010

Re: i think i just unwittingly let someone case my house

@kittyloo Given our current state of affairs, I think it is important to be super vigilant.  Calm and not fearful, just smart.  Give the police a call just to get a read on the situation and they might have. suggestions for being proactive and ease your mind.  The positive take away is, the next time you have a similar visitor you will be prepared.  You were practicing kindness,  don't be hard on yourself.  Life is a learning experience.

 

Just an aside, we have cameras throughout and on our home....it is bluetooth so we have control from any distance.  It has given us peace of mind when we are traveling and has come in handy when we need to change the lights, etc.  We also have Ring on our door so we can ask any visitor from inside the house "what they want" if they are a stranger, this has been very helpful.  Just a thought.