My house got broken into today. (How do you protect your collections?)

[marvelvscapcom2]

You could get a small camera system hooked up to your phone to check on your collection from time to time. Not airtight but gives you a sense of security to check up on anytime you want to. The way i look at it is that the robbers probably dont know much about games too much and i have way too many for them to take any one instance. Dont think they could carry my collection out the door. But yes i get this same feeling of paranoia. We spend so much time looking for and spending money on these games just to have them taken away is not a fun feeling.

true cameras are a good defense, whats caught on camera can give law enforcement the best evidence needed to catch whoever was even on your property or in your home at the time of the crime. My old landlords did this and were able to return some of my stolen property that the roofers ended up selling at a resale shop just next door to my apartment complex.

no I was not thinking too clearly at the time I should have known the roofers would attempt this


and?
It's not safe to tell people everything. especially where you keep expensive things or money especially when you talk to strangers about things or money online or offline.

Don't tell people on the streets your address, don't give people your real name online especially.

,and don't talk so much to neighbors about how much things you have in your home,

Yeah, I don't talk to the neighbors too miuch. I loathe most of them. One is pretty cool though and soon I plan on asking him to play back his camera footage from the date and see if he caught anything.  Probably not but it's worth a shot.

I never use my real name except on ebay.  It's kinda scary wondering if an Ebay seller could come by. But it's unlikely i'd assume.

I just purchased 2 beware of dog signs today.  They say something as simple as a beware of dog sign lowers home invasions by like 40 percent.  I know if I was a robber, i'd not mess with homes that had a dog.  I reccomend doing this to anyone, even if you don't have a dog. they have no way of knowing. 


Thank you everyone for all the advice and soothing words. 

[blurks]

All the best to you. I would be destroyed knowing someone would have been in my apartment during my absence, completely obliterating my feeling of safety and privacy for the next years. I don't even know how I could ever again trust my environment if I had been a victim of a robber.

2 or 3 years ago I installed a safe front door with additional locks for my apartment hoping that it will scare potential burglars off. I have heard from a theory, that burglars spontaneously decide if they try to brake in and only spend around 1-2 minutes until they give up as the danger of being cought increases exponentially with time. I'm hoping my door withstands 2 minutes of asshole treatment.

[oldgamerz]

Urban Conspiracy that I think I myself have experienced but could be wrong

Check your electric box Marv, there really is nothing you can do now, I would think but sometimes people break into apartments to install hidden parts used to steal your electricity. And make you foot the bill for both you, and them.

 I once had an over 120USD increase in my electric bill when I left my 1st apartment and when I left I shut off everything and still had a ridiculous bill too pay. then in my next apartment someone broke in, and crow bared my new appliance, and painted my electric box shut so not even my landlords could open it up again. The landlords thought it was me that did it and I ended up needing to pay for the damages also. and on that day my kitchen smelled like paint but I was so upset about the new appliance getting crow barred for no apparent reason, I forgot about the paint I smelled on that day.

the only thing to prove the person was their was boot prints, nobody ever believed me either

nothing was stolen both times as far as I could tell

[doafan]

Have experienced myself this situation a couple of times, at the worst one the took even the electrical cable after that decided to move from that place, now I keep my most precious titles at a electronic security box, you can mount this beauty into a wall or better into the floor so that way they can't carry it that easy, it's better if you hide this one, mine is covered with boxes and some shoes at the deepest part of one of my closets, since it doesn't use at padlock if they don't have the time or the appropiate tools to open it they definetely will decide to steal something that is not that complicated.

[shfan]

I'm really sorry you had that awful experience, so pleased they didn't get through the third door and that your dog's OK. 

[98dgreen]

I recommend installing cameras, reinforcing your door to make it harder to kick in, and getting a shotgun, in that order.  Also if you are in the market for a guard dog I recommend the Rhodesian Ridgeback.  They keep the salesman, Jehovahs Witness, Mormons, thieves, etc, from hanging around for more than a few seconds.  Mine barks continuously when a person or another dog gets within 100 feat of the house until she is called off or the disturbance leaves.  If you do plan on letting them into a fenced yard the fence must be at least 8 ft tall as anything less they can jump.

[mark1982]

Sorry to hear about that Marvel, it's sad to and upsetting to hear this kind of news

I believe Cameras are the way to go, not only does it identify who it is, but also gives authorities the info they need to trace and locate any stolen goods. Luckily my apartment complex has cameras installed in every corner so they can check who comes in the area, access the elevators, food delivery guys. Even caught an elderly guy who always urinated in the stairwell for some reason...

There was also a case in my apartment area where a food delivery guy stole some shoes that were in front of someones door. Cameras caught it all, even showed the guy put the shoes inside the food delivery box! Feel bad for the next customer who orders anything. His mug was put all over social media and he got fired from his job, I don't know if there were any other charges.

So in the end I believe cameras are pretty good and makes thieves think twice now, since they can be caught and ridiculed by social media as well in this day and age.

[blurks]

I recommend installing cameras, reinforcing your door to make it harder to kick in, and getting a shotgun, in that order.

And how is a weapon ("shotgun") supposed to help when burglars and robbers usually brake in during your absence?

[wolff242]

I recommend installing cameras, reinforcing your door to make it harder to kick in, and getting a shotgun, in that order.

And how is a weapon ("shotgun") supposed to help when burglars and robbers usually brake in during your absence?

Because they often also break in (not brake...) in the middle of the night. Criminals are getting more brazen, having something like a shotgun isn't a bad idea.

To the OP- if your neighbors know you loathe them, they are more likely to look the other way if something is happening to your home. It's always a good idea to play nice with the people you live near.

[98dgreen]

I recommend installing cameras, reinforcing your door to make it harder to kick in, and getting a shotgun, in that order.

And how is a weapon ("shotgun") supposed to help when burglars and robbers usually brake in during your absence?

You notice that I listed weapon as the least urgent right?  This was because he may or may not already own one, people can try to rob your place of residence at anytime if they are desperate enough, especially if they are after money for drugs.  From the sounds of it he lives in not the best of areas in which case a shotgun would be the preferable firearm of choice because there is likely heavier gun control and with a shotgun you don't have to worry much about projectiles going through walls.

[blurks]

Because they often also break in (not brake...) in the middle of the night. Criminals are getting more brazen, having something like a shotgun isn't a bad idea.

I doubt that trying to locate and load the gun while still being sleepy is a helpful solution strategy for any problem. You only pose a threat to yourself.

[alkira]

Ah man, that sucks, but I'm happy to hear nothing was taken. When I was in highschool my brother and I had a lot of gaming stuff between us, including a PS2 with at least a dozen games, a DSlite each and maybe a dozen games, etc. After getting more comfortable in what was known as a bad neighbourhood, we invited the local kids over sometimes to play games with us, but at that age we couldn't understand that those kids weren't like us, they'd been trained by older siblings to essentially befriend people and scout their homes for valuables so that thefts can be planned later. Sure enough, when we all routinely went out one time we came back to all of our gaming equipment gone. Clearly the work of idiots, who walked right past laptops and other things worth more than what they chose to take, but they took things they either wanted or knew the value of I guess. Filed a report with the police the same day, including a full inventory. That's the last we heard about that. Didn't associate with any of the neighbours again after that. I suppose the reason I bring that up is because your break-in was obviously targeted. They knew what they were going in for. You can't very well just start keeping your collection a complete secret, because part of the fun of having it is to show it to people who appreciate it, but yeah I guess all you can do is make the room you store your valuables in difficult to breach, and yeah add surveillance. You'd think I'd have learned from my own experience, but I currently have no protection against thieves aside from the standard locks on the doors. But that's partly because surveillance cameras in my case would cost more than the items they're surveying.

[oldgamerz]

Because they often also break in (not brake...) in the middle of the night. Criminals are getting more brazen, having something like a shotgun isn't a bad idea.

I doubt that trying to locate and load the gun while still being sleepy is a helpful solution strategy for any problem. You only pose a threat to yourself.

(IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR EVERYONE)
If you killed or injured a person outside of your home like if they started to run and you shot them or even injured them them outside of your home, you can still get charged with some kind of murder. Or severe penalty

But if the worse event comes. from what I heard and understand, only if you injure or kill the person inside your home and if the evidence is proven that the intruder was injured or killed inside of your own home ONLY then it can be considered self defense according to the law.

Don't forget about the danger of the robber if he, or she has a weapon of their own. Some of robbers are either military, former military, police, or even former SWAT. members who break in And can be extremely dangerous and highly trained. If the robber has enough training not even a shotgun can be a safe bet

Sometimes it is safer to let the robber take whatever they want, or be killed. Just look at some store or fast food joints that have been robbed before and how some the employees survived it

[andydavis]

Just read this and I am sorry to hear what happened. As oldgamerz described, there's not really a 100% foolproof solution to preventing theft and housebreaking. The more determined the thieves are, the more likely they will find a way around your security and take whatever what they can and want. My aunt's house was broken into by unknown window-climbing individuals despite being on the fourth floor of an apartment building and having thick cast iron grills installed in front of the windows. Investigators believed that the perpetrators used bolt cutters to silently cut those bars, which is a bit strange considering that bolt cutters of that caliber cannot be obtained here without a permit. 

My motto to protecting myself and my stuff has always been out of sight, out of mind. Normally, I would try to make the place in front of my house look as plain and nondescript as possible, while keeping all the good stuff locked up in generic compartments that look quite decrepit. The only people that I would invite into my house would be people that I have known for a really long time, like relatives and in-laws. For others, like recently met friends, study groups and colleagues, I would normally just agree to meet them outside for activities and tell them that my house has nothing interesting and that I am not going to cook anything.

Do not trust anyone, and never underestimate even the smallest possibilities (aka Murphy's Law). Like you've mentioned, there's a chance the person who did this could be anyone and from anywhere, even eBay of all things. I wouldn't be surprised if this turns out to be the case, since eBay's size/reputation and penchant for lack of accountability make them the ideal platform for scummy people and criminals. Not everybody on eBay is like that of course, but just watch your back when dealing with any e-commerce platforms, and this includes steam and all the other digital distribution platforms out there.

[oldgamerz]

Just read this and I am sorry to hear what happened. As oldgamerz described, there's not really a 100% foolproof solution to preventing theft and housebreaking. The more determined the thieves are, the more likely they will find a way around your security and take whatever what they can and want. My aunt's house was broken into by unknown window-climbing individuals despite being on the fourth floor of an apartment building and having thick cast iron grills installed in front of the windows. Investigators believed that the perpetrators used bolt cutters to silently cut those bars, which is a bit strange considering that bolt cutters of that caliber cannot be obtained here without a permit. 

My motto to protecting myself and my stuff has always been out of sight, out of mind. Normally, I would try to make the place in front of my house look as plain and nondescript as possible, while keeping all the good stuff locked up in generic compartments that look quite decrepit. The only people that I would invite into my house would be people that I have known for a really long time, like relatives and in-laws. For others, like recently met friends, study groups and colleagues, I would normally just agree to meet them outside for activities and tell them that my house has nothing interesting and that I am not going to cook anything.

Do not trust anyone, and never underestimate even the smallest possibilities (aka Murphy's Law). Like you've mentioned, there's a chance the person who did this could be anyone and from anywhere, even eBay of all things. I wouldn't be surprised if this turns out to be the case, since eBay's size/reputation and penchant for lack of accountability make them the ideal platform for scummy people and criminals. Not everybody on eBay is like that of course, but just watch your back when dealing with any e-commerce platforms, and this includes steam and all the other digital distribution platforms out there.

the bold print on Andy's post is how my family has survived so far.