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Honored Contributor
Posts: 69,399
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

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

Ever since people started getting the doorbell and surveillance cameras, people have become downright paranoid.  On the NextDoor app, they'll put out an alert to half the city if a kid walks down the street wearing a hoodie.  They got hysterical when people in cars took pictures of their houses, like that was illegal.  They thought they were being cased.  Turns out the photographers were real estate agents. I won't mention how excited they recently got about the silver suv following the UPS truck.  They were sure it was a gang of thieves.  The driver of that vehicle came to my door delivering a package, wearing a UPS vest.  I told her she was the talk of the town. 

New Mexico☀️Land Of Enchantment
Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 6,407
Registered: ‎07-07-2010

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

@kittyloo  Since it is a village, everyone probably knows who this woman is.  I would ask your neighbors about her.  If they tell you that they have no idea who she is, then I would give the police chief a call and ask about her.  In small towns and villages, someone on the police force always knows what is going on.  

 

After you have done this, make sure to have security cameras set up and even motion detectors.  You cannot be too lax in security today.

 

Do not ever invite a stranger into your home again.  Even villages draw some bad people.

The next time that I hear salt and ice together, it better be in a margarita!
Honored Contributor
Posts: 8,736
Registered: ‎02-19-2014

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

[ Edited ]

It's also possible she is poor and desperate but not at all criminal and actually wanted to clean your house.

 

ETA: Having read your additional post, I'd say that even if she's "harmless," if she's also a con artist looking for a handout, she's not the best person to hire to do cleaning or other work. But you already knew that.

When you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.
"Power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic." - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr
Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,934
Registered: ‎05-09-2014

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

@kittyloo I think you've gotten good advice here. It's a small village as you say, so the police will know who she is and be proactive in making sure you feel safer. 

here is the only extra help I can offer with good intentions and humor:  if you're referring to knick knacks, trinkets and various small items of decoration, give up on  "chachkies" and spell it this way: tchotchkes

 It has a dictionary definition as a genuine word and if you spell it the way it's normally seen, you'll be understood instantly. One knick knack is a tchotchke, plural is tchotchkes.  

 

I got a lot of those, too. No one would want to steal mine. I think yours are safe. Try not to worry about the nosy lady!

 

Have a terrific first Thanksgiving in your new home.

Respected Contributor
Posts: 4,148
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

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


@Q4u wrote:

I'm glad that turned out well, but please understand that some cons do this while one is the "front" with the sad story keeping you busy while someone else is getting into the garage or through the back door.  Someone said not to be scared, just smart and that's true.   So much "out there" to contend with anymore and never let anyone into your house.  Calling your police chief after the fact was the best thing to do!


My first though was "harmless con artist" does that mean the police are allowing her to do things and getting away with it? I wonder if she ever has been in trouble with the police and they just let her go.  Me, I'd still talk to the neighbors and get their take on it. And of course, following all the security precautions.

 

Other than that, I want to know where this tiny village is so I can escape to it.  ;-)

Valued Contributor
Posts: 502
Registered: ‎08-01-2010

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

I would let the police know just in case.

 

I went out one July mornng last summer to find a take out box, a sauce cup, and a soda cup sitting on the top of my trash bin, which is located right next to my vehicle.  There is no way the wind would have blown these things up and make them look like a place setting.  I thought about calling the police just to let them know there may be someone trolling the neighborhood but decded against it.  A few days later I found the same thing and again decided not to call the police.  I didn't want to look foolish.  Two weeks later a neighbor told me that 10 cars in the neighborhood were hit in one night.  I keep thinking that if maybe I had made that call the patrols would have been stepped up and the thefts could have been avoided or the thieves caught. You never know.

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Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,460
Registered: ‎07-10-2011

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


@RainyDayGal wrote:

@Q4u wrote:

I'm glad that turned out well, but please understand that some cons do this while one is the "front" with the sad story keeping you busy while someone else is getting into the garage or through the back door.  Someone said not to be scared, just smart and that's true.   So much "out there" to contend with anymore and never let anyone into your house.  Calling your police chief after the fact was the best thing to do!


My first though was "harmless con artist" does that mean the police are allowing her to do things and getting away with it? I wonder if she ever has been in trouble with the police and they just let her go.  Me, I'd still talk to the neighbors and get their take on it. And of course, following all the security precautions.

 

Other than that, I want to know where this tiny village is so I can escape to it.  ;-)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Maybe the Police Chief meant that she's not a very good con artist or maybe her cons are just telling her sad stories and get a few dollars because people feel sorry for her.

 

Nothing to get arrested for.


 

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 6,133
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

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


@Kachina624 wrote:

Ever since people started getting the doorbell and surveillance cameras, people have become downright paranoid.  On the NextDoor app, they'll put out an alert to half the city if a kid walks down the street wearing a hoodie.  They got hysterical when people in cars took pictures of their houses, like that was illegal.  They thought they were being cased.  Turns out the photographers were real estate agents. I won't mention how excited they recently got about the silver suv following the UPS truck.  They were sure it was a gang of thieves.  The driver of that vehicle came to my door delivering a package, wearing a UPS vest.  I told her she was the talk of the town. 


lol...ohmygosh, @Kachina624 , it is the same here with Facebook.   I was driving and got a phone call I had to take so pulled over on a residential street to talk.  I kept waiting for my picture to turn up on Facebook to watch out for this old lady casing the 'hood.  It is out of hand.

 

That being said, cold day before I'd let somebody in my house.  *if*  I open the door to a stranger I always block it...we have cats who can escape but I think I would do it anyway.

Respected Contributor
Posts: 4,181
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

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

yes   would she really want any of your  chachkies

Respected Contributor
Posts: 4,503
Registered: ‎03-15-2021

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

@Wsmom We do not answer our doorbell. Ever. People who know us call ahead. No one drops by. Of course, that all stopped with COVID. Now no one is invited in or to visit. Phone calls are all we are willing to do at this point. Our city is infested with unmasked, unvaccinated spreaders.