PSA: Safety for your House and Family

[Lanny]

NEVER ALLOW ANYONE ONTO YOUR PROPERTY IF YOU ARE IN DOUBT!     AND IF THEY ASK YOU TO CONFINE YOUR DOG, THINK TWICE ABOUT THAT!    OUR DOG WILL HOPEFULLY RECEIVE SOME KIND OF TREAT, FOR HIS GOOD WORK THIS AFTERNOON.

 

This applies whether you live in the USA, or here in Colombia, or in some other country.  We live in a huge rural subdivision and  the perimeter of our lot is fenced on all 4 sides.  This afternoon, ,about 5 or 6 men came to our gate. They wanted me to confine the dog who was barking at them, and to let them in. They said the tree by our driveway (which the HOA takes care of) was dead. One of the men was in the tree.

 

I had no knowledge of there being a problem with the tree (removing it would be a huge legal deal and the HOA would need permission, from the Conversation people to do that), and the HOA had not notified us they would be coming or that the tree had an issue.

 

I told them that I had to assume they were here for criminal reasons, until I learned otherwise.  I called the HOA office but they were probably not back from Lunch, or running errands.

 

I told them, if they were from the Water company, Electric company, Phone company, etc.,  and arrived like that, without our requesting service, that I would do the same and assume they were here for criminal reasons.

 

I think the Power company here, and others, tell their customers to call them, if they receive an unexpected visitor. One should do that, in whatever country one lives in.

 

When I got the woman who is in charge of our HOA on the phone, she told us they are supposed to be working a block from our house? I'm not sure of the distance, but they were in the wrong place. Wrong tree...

 

After this happened, I wrote on the WhatsApp Chat for everyone in the HOA that they were in our street and a "heads up", since I wasn't able to speak with someone in the HOA office at that time.  

[Mimm]

So, they weren't criminals? Just in the wrong place?

[Lanny]

So, they weren't criminals? Just in the wrong place?

 

Yes. Fortunately, that was the case.  

[3 ladybugs]

How scary!! I once had a group of men knock on my door and demand to come in. I was asleep with my then 1 year old upstairs at the time. I heard them knock and then they knocked again and again, really pounding. I couldn't see out to the front of my house so I ended up calling police. They came and it turns out they were to go to the house with the same number as ours but on a neighboring street (similar name if you read really fast and have bad comprehension). They were carpet installers. You really can't be too careful. 

 

Glad you and your family are okay!

[Mergath]

How scary!! I once had a group of men knock on my door and demand to come in. I was asleep with my then 1 year old upstairs at the time. I heard them knock and then they knocked again and again, really pounding. I couldn't see out to the front of my house so I ended up calling police. They came and it turns out they were to go to the house with the same number as ours but on a neighboring street (similar name if you read really fast and have bad comprehension). They were carpet installers. You really can't be too careful.

 

Glad you and your family are okay!

Okay, I think I'm missing something. Why was this scary for you? I can see why you would have been nervous at the time, but now that you know they were just carpet installers at the wrong house, why do you find this to be a cautionary tale?

 

I feel like I'm missing something on this thread with repair people going to the wrong house and everyone being like, "Omg, how scary!"

[3 ladybugs]

You wake up in the middle of the afternoon to someone pounding on your door and not get scared. I didn't even have a dog at the time! I am alone with my 1 year old not knowing what was going on and hearing strange men in my front yard (upstairs at my house doesn't have windows to the front). It turns out they were lost but at the time I didn't know if they were going to break down my door or what.

 

The OP was fine too. But you really can't be too careful. 

[Mergath]

You wake up in the middle of the afternoon to someone pounding on your door and not get scared. I didn't even have a dog at the time! I am alone with my 1 year old not knowing what was going on and hearing strange men in my front yard (upstairs at my house doesn't have windows to the front). It turns out they were lost but at the time I didn't know if they were going to break down my door or what.

 

The OP was fine too. But you really can't be too careful. 

 

Like I said, I can understand being nervous when it happened and you didn't know what was going on. I guess I'm just missing the point of the thread as a whole. It seems to be, "Be on your guard for lost service people!" Because they might... trim one of your trees?

[AimeeM]

I think it's a cautionary tale because word gets around and we know that "lost service people" aren't always that.

 

We live in a thoroughly lovely subdivision. Busy, houses close to each other, etc. Recently we had people coming around selling things, etc. only to find out that they were casing houses and breaking in... even when they knew people may be home. Several homes in our neighborhood were hit and happened to have exterior cameras. These folks looked completely legit -- badges, shirts, business cards if you answered. 

 

Considering what has happened locally so recently, someone pounding on my door or sticking around when I didn't answer would scare me. 

Edited August 1, 2017 by AimeeM

[GailV]

Wasn't there a recent news story about a roofing company who tore quite a bit of the roof off of a house while the owners weren't home, and then realized they were at the wrong place and just left the mess?  I don't recall where I read it -- it might be local news.

 

Anyway, having service people show up at the wrong house can be a bit worse than having the wrong tree trimmed.

[Lanny]

It is apparently extremely common for example for people claiming to be service people for a Utility provider to show up at a home that didn't call to report a problem or request a repair to gain entry to a house for crime. They may be in uniform and in vehicles from the utility or marked like utility company vehicles. I am the OP and I began this thread to make others aware of that type of crime. In this case today fortunately it was a mistake and they were not here for crime. I responded properly. The dog responded properly. Be careful when people come to your house.

 

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[Guinevere]

I had people come to try to sell me a house alarm once.  I told them I already had one, and he showed me a picture and asked if that was the one I had.  I said, "Uhm, it's a little weird that you are asking me that."  I think he was probably a new salesperson and didn't realize he came off as so creepy.  I think that because I lived on a cul de sac at the time, and no one else was home in any of the houses.  If they wanted to do something, they easily could have and no one would have known.  It was unsettling at the time, though.  

[Carrie12345]

These are the things that make me miss my big, scary looking dogs.  :(

 

I do live in a gated community, but it can be a very false sense of security.  We (the community) employ a private security firm, but there have been incidents of not only people impersonating security (with similar looking vehicles complete with light bar) but of impersonating actual police!  So, yeah, I do get a little nervous when service providers drop by unexpectedly.  Especially given that our only services are electric and internet, so there are very few people that would ever have reason to come around.

 

We just had a vehicle going door to door last week. I looked them up and they are a subcontractor for our internet company.  But I still would have loved for them to have heard my GSD-mix and Rottie-mix barking up a storm while they were here.  Instead, I think my 4lb Chi-Terrier-rodent mix was taking a nap. :rolleyes:

[MedicMom]

Like I said, I can understand being nervous when it happened and you didn't know what was going on. I guess I'm just missing the point of the thread as a whole. It seems to be, "Be on your guard for lost service people!" Because they might... trim one of your trees?

I'm sorry but this made me laugh.

[Selkie]

In the small city near us, there has been a big problem with criminals impersonating utilities workers to gain access to people's homes. Two people dressed as utility workers will knock on someone's door and say they need to go down in the basement to check the water connection. One of them then distracts the homeowner while the other goes through the house taking valuables. Usually, the homeowner doesn't notice the missing items until the "workers" are long gone. The police have been making a big effort to inform people about this because it has been happening so frequently. 

[Guest]

Thanks, OP, for posting with this warning because it sounds like some people are unaware of what's been going on criminally.

 

A woman just a few minutes walk from us was stabbed and robbed after she opened her door because it was 5:00 am and the guy was posing as her newspaper delivery person. Thankfully, she crawled to a neighbor's house and got help after he robbed her house and left.

 

There's absolutely no reason for anyone to be rolling their eyes, criticizing, and mocking you for your post.

[Katy]

I had someone trying to break into our home once say they were from a service company.  The police said otherwise.

[Mergath]

Thanks, OP, for posting with this warning because it sounds like some people are unaware of what's been going on criminally.

 

A woman just a few minutes walk from us was stabbed and robbed after she opened her door because it was 5:00 am and the guy was posing as her newspaper delivery person. Thankfully, she crawled to a neighbor's house and got help after he robbed her house and left.

 

There's absolutely no reason for anyone to be rolling their eyes, criticizing, and mocking you for your post.

 

This wasn't a story about repair people breaking into someone's home under the guise of fixing something and then committing some criminal act. It was a supposed PSA about some tree trimmers who came to the wrong house and left when they realized their mistake, and then someone else chimed in with a story about service people who came to the wrong house and once again, when they realized their mistake, left without incident. I'm not sure what lesson we're all supposed to take from that other than to be frightened of every other human being on the planet even when there's absolutely no reason to.

[ChocolateReignRemix]

I think it is fairly common for utility workers and other service people to ask you to restrain an animal while they work.  I am sure criminals would want you to do that as well, but I am not sure how that makes a utility worker's request unreasonable.

[Lady Marmalade]

Thanks, OP, for posting with this warning because it sounds like some people are unaware of what's been going on criminally.

 

A woman just a few minutes walk from us was stabbed and robbed after she opened her door because it was 5:00 am and the guy was posing as her newspaper delivery person. Thankfully, she crawled to a neighbor's house and got help after he robbed her house and left.

 

There's absolutely no reason for anyone to be rolling their eyes, criticizing, and mocking you for your post.

 

Wow!  I AM that 5:00 am newspaper delivery person, but I would never, ever, in a million years knock on anyone's doors for any reason.

 

There is absolutely no reason for a newspaper carrier to need to contact the homeowner.  

 

That being said, if your big, barky and car-chasing dogs are out and I'm the kind carrier who agrees to deliver your Sunday paper to the door instead of the box at the end of the driveway, I'm changing my mind and your paper is going in the box that I can safely reach from my car window.   

[gardenmom5]

Okay, I think I'm missing something. Why was this scary for you? I can see why you would have been nervous at the time, but now that you know they were just carpet installers at the wrong house, why do you find this to be a cautionary tale?

 

I feel like I'm missing something on this thread with repair people going to the wrong house and everyone being like, "Omg, how scary!"

 

yeah.  unknown person knocking loudly on your door, not scary. 

 

scary is fixing dinner with only baby on the floor playing and finding a stranger IN your house.  it got pretty ugly before he ran.   and the police had their dogs to track him, but he got away.   a month later - I heard someone outside on our then gravel driveway.  when I popped my head up to look - I heard someone running away on gravel.  it's a very distinct sound.

dh consented to get me a GSD after that.  she was a wonderful dog. . . . it was so sad when her hips went.  she didn't even have to bark to intimidate people.  she'd just look at them.

 

that did leave me pretty paranoid afterwards.  but service people- even unexpected ones - always knocked at the door, and would back up before it was opened just so they wouldn't intimidate a homeowner. 

 

Wasn't there a recent news story about a roofing company who tore quite a bit of the roof off of a house while the owners weren't home, and then realized they were at the wrong place and just left the mess?  I don't recall where I read it -- it might be local news.

 

Anyway, having service people show up at the wrong house can be a bit worse than having the wrong tree trimmed.

 

we recently had a house up the street sell.  I thought it weird to see a large landscaping truck in the driveway while the house was unoccupied.  didn't see what they were doing. apparently, they were stealing shrubs.

later a large sign appeared at the house stating no work was being done and there shouldn't be any workers there.

[Mimm]

Thanks, OP, for posting with this warning because it sounds like some people are unaware of what's been going on criminally.

 

A woman just a few minutes walk from us was stabbed and robbed after she opened her door because it was 5:00 am and the guy was posing as her newspaper delivery person. Thankfully, she crawled to a neighbor's house and got help after he robbed her house and left.

 

There's absolutely no reason for anyone to be rolling their eyes, criticizing, and mocking you for your post.

 

But there's a huge difference between relating a story where an actual crime happened or almost happened and relating a story where nothing happened and there was no criminal intent. I'm not saying that the OP acted wrongly when she was careful and called to double check their story... I'm just saying "Watch out, some people came over with no harm intended and nothing bad happened!" is a weird warning story.

[athomeontheprairie]

You wake up in the middle of the afternoon to someone pounding on your door and not get scared. I didn't even have a dog at the time! I am alone with my 1 year old not knowing what was going on and hearing strange men in my front yard (upstairs at my house doesn't have windows to the front). It turns out they were lost but at the time I didn't know if they were going to break down my door or what.

 

The OP was fine too. But you really can't be too careful. 

 

Once, my family was working in another state. We lived in an RV. DH was at work when it started raining. My lo and I were napping, and woke up to this large man entering my house in all black. It was terrifying. Thankfully, my dog attacked him.

 

It was my dh. He couldn't get ahold of us, we were in danger due to flash flooding. So he left work, but only had a four wheeler that could access us. He was covered in rain gear.

 

Looking back, I was never in danger. But at the time, yes, try not being scared...

[heartlikealion]

Look, I'll be honest. I have been jolted out of bed with my heart racing because my own husband came pounding on the window by my bed. He was locked out of the house (had a key, but chain was on door) and I was asleep. I didn't hear him knock on the door so he came into the backyard.

 

It doesn't matter if it's a criminal or not, hearing someone knock on your door/window can be scary (at the time). NO, not as scary as someone IN your home! Oh my!! Yikes!!

 

One time we had people knocking on our door at like, midnight?? Luckily dh was home. He didn't want to say anything. He was waiting for them to speak. They didn't speak, just kept knocking on our doors. What the heck?! Finally he got to the bottom of it... I think he called the campus police and the police approached them (students)? Then the students approached dh at work later that week explaining it was them. They had left their student IDs in his library. Umm does that really warrant coming to his home and knocking on the door at like midnight? You would think they would have called out his name. "Mr. Heartlikealion? Sorry to bug you... we left our IDs..." I mean it's not as if dh had them! He still would have had to go back to his building and unlock it to get them.

[Ali in OR]

When you're not expecting someone, you don't know whether it's the harmless mistake thing or the opportunistic criminal thing. I think that's the warning. Obviously one is not dangerous but the other is. For many years I've avoided the "magazine sales" people. Some company from some other state trucks in troubled inner city youths and they "win prizes" by selling the most magazine subscriptions. I once talked to them on the front steps of our previous home and as the conversation continued I became increasingly uncomfortable and felt unsafe. I've never opened my door to them again, though dh did a year or two ago. Within a few days after he did, there was an article in the paper about one of these "magazine sales" people raping a mentally challenged woman and another woman reported that the same guy tried to force his way into her home when she was shutting the door on him. So yeah, I don't open up my front door to just anyone. No problem if I see the UPS truck or mailman or a neighborhood kid selling girl scout cookies!

[heartlikealion]

When you're not expecting someone, you don't know whether it's the harmless mistake thing or the opportunistic criminal thing. I think that's the warning. Obviously one is not dangerous but the other is. For many years I've avoided the "magazine sales" people. Some company from some other state trucks in troubled inner city youths and they "win prizes" by selling the most magazine subscriptions. I once talked to them on the front steps of our previous home and as the conversation continued I became increasingly uncomfortable and felt unsafe. I've never opened my door to them again, though dh did a year or two ago. Within a few days after he did, there was an article in the paper about one of these "magazine sales" people raping a mentally challenged woman and another woman reported that the same guy tried to force his way into her home when she was shutting the door on him. So yeah, I don't open up my front door to just anyone. No problem if I see the UPS truck or mailman or a neighborhood kid selling girl scout cookies!

 

I was taken advantage of financially (not physically) by a magazine sales person when I was in college. He approached me on campus posing as a fellow student from xyz club and told me about their prize thing, too. He gave me some paper (receipt or something) and I went to the website. It was clearly bogus. That's when I knew for sure it was a scam, but by then he had my fake order/money. We actually concocted a plan to catch him, but it didn't pan out. If I could find him again I was going to convince him that my friends in the dorm wanted to buy magazines, too. Then we were going to have campus security deal with him. I never saw him again, but some magazine people came to my HOME (when I lived off campus) and one of my roommates refused to believe me that this was a scam and insisted on chatting with this other person about magazines. I really don't know if she wanted to get a rise out of me or wanted attention or what.

 

Edited August 1, 2017 by heartlikealion

[Lanny]

Thanks, OP, for posting with this warning because it sounds like some people are unaware of what's been going on criminally.

 

A woman just a few minutes walk from us was stabbed and robbed after she opened her door because it was 5:00 am and the guy was posing as her newspaper delivery person. Thankfully, she crawled to a neighbor's house and got help after he robbed her house and left.

 

There's absolutely no reason for anyone to be rolling their eyes, criticizing, and mocking you for your post.

 

Thank you.   I hope your neighbor recovered fully from the stab wounds. The post was meant to try to remind  people to be alert and a "heads up!"   

[gardenmom5]

Once, my family was working in another state. We lived in an RV. DH was at work when it started raining. My lo and I were napping, and woke up to this large man entering my house in all black. It was terrifying. Thankfully, my dog attacked him.

 

It was my dh. He couldn't get ahold of us, we were in danger due to flash flooding. So he left work, but only had a four wheeler that could access us. He was covered in rain gear.

 

Looking back, I was never in danger. But at the time, yes, try not being scared...

 

when my girls were around 10 and 7, they were spending the night at my sister's.   to convince them to go to bed (they were sleeping in the front room.) she told them they could scream when her dh came home.  (working swing? graveyard?).  she thought they'd go to sleep.   1dd couldn't stay awake  past 10 (?) at that age even if her life had depended upon it. 2dd. . . . what's sleep? (***) . . . . .sissie went to bed with her baby.   so, when my bil came home (at whatever small hours of the night) . . the girls started screaming.   sissie is on another floor and thinking "oh, crap". . . her dh . . . thought they were being robbed. he was so freaked out .. . .

 

eta: *** - in college, she went to bed after her roommates, and was up before them.  she was never tired. . . .

Edited August 1, 2017 by gardenmom5