A smart new trick lets burglars know if you’re home or not. Here’s how to flush it out.
Burglars use their imaginations to find ways to get into homes. The latest: a small pile of potting soil on the doormat or the doorstep. It sounds simple, but it’s actually quite clever. Burglars use this method to check if the inhabitants are at home. If so, the residents would indeed have removed the soil. If they haven’t done it, they are absent.
Burglars often use such tricks to assess whether they can act. Think of the tape, the small branch or the piece of paper at the door frame: if they are still there after two days, it means that the inhabitants have been away for a few days. Sometimes they also place small pebbles on the path in front of the door.
Some 211,400 home burglaries were committed in France (excluding Mayotte) in 2022, more than one every 3 minutes. This figure marks an 11% increase over the previous year. Burglaries take place all year round, but Covea, a mutual insurance group, identifies an accentuation of the phenomenon during the holidays in July and August as well as during the end of year celebrations. Contrary to popular belief, the insurer explains that burglaries take place in almost 8 out of 10 cases during the week and generally during the day.
Are you planning to go on vacation soon and are you worried about a burglary? Here are some tips to reduce the risk:
- Make the house look lived in. Avoid leaving a pile of mail on the doormat and constantly closed curtains.
- Use a timer for lighting. If the light suddenly turns on, it looks like it was turned on manually.
- Ask someone to make small changes in the house from time to time. For example, opening and closing curtains, turning lights on and off, or placing plates and glasses on the table or counter.
- Avoid posting information about your vacation on social media. Burglars are more observant than you think.