Someone broke into my house...

[desertdragon]

I am mad and frustrated as hell now...This past wednesday 5/21, while I was on business travel. My wife took my son to school 7:30 am and when to a shop for a oil change for her car, came back to the house with my 3 years old daugter and discovered that someone broke in to my house.

The guy that did it turned all the breakers off first and went in throu the side door of the garage. The alarm for some reason did not go off. He apparently was looking for small and vauable items.

He did not touch my audio equiment and my big screen TVs and did not destroy the house. He emptied all drawers and took all our watches: 3 Cartier and 1 Rolex, all my wife's jewelries and my son's PSP and some cash.

Since I was out of town, my wife had to deal with all the mess, calling the police and the insurance company, she was scare to dead and I could not get a fly to come home early, I just got home yesteday.

How come the alarm did not go off? Some time in the past, I have had some false alarms and within 5 minutes, the cops would show up.

[LongBeachCoupe]

dude sorry to hear that...

3 watches (all of which i am sure you have insured).. and a psp? doesnt seem worth it IMHO... and unless you walk around like a rapper with chains on and have a bentley... im surprised that they would even "hit" your house... being smart enough to be able to cut the alarm means they shouldnt just be "rummaging" for some watches....

Anyways... my assumption (although blind) is that your home alarm is connected via phone... and in which case, cutting the power isnt even required... it may also be thru internet (cut the coax cable outside)... an alarm is only as strong as its weakest link... some people put window sensors on 2nd floor windows, and have the telephone wire exposed at knee level on the outside of the house... like the alarm serves a purpose lol...

In all... im really sorry this happened... but better off it happening like this, than it happening when wifey is alone..

[desertdragon]

dude sorry to hear that...

3 watches (all of which i am sure you have insured).. and a psp? doesnt seem worth it IMHO... and unless you walk around like a rapper with chains on and have a bentley... im surprised that they would even "hit" your house... being smart enough to be able to cut the alarm means they shouldnt just be "rummaging" for some watches....

Anyways... my assumption (although blind) is that your home alarm is connected via phone... and in which case, cutting the power isnt even required... it may also be thru internet (cut the coax cable outside)... an alarm is only as strong as its weakest link... some people put window sensors on 2nd floor windows, and have the telephone wire exposed at knee level on the outside of the house... like the alarm serves a purpose lol...

In all... im really sorry this happened... but better off it happening like this, than it happening when wifey is alone..

LBC, total was 4 watches and stupid me, I did not have them insured.The guy did not cut the phone line, the alarm indeed was connected via phone. Why did he turn the breaker panel off?

[LongBeachCoupe]

Doc has his stereo insured... many get their wheels insured.. you have no business keeping that kinda $$ in jewelry around if its not insured (unless its stolen or something)

mind you... im just curious in nature... im not an alarm installer lol..

But idk how your "breaker panel" would have access to outside... shouldnt that be inside the house?

Regardless, for an alarm to be triggered... it needs to be getting power (think of smashing a car window with a top of the line alarm.. if the battery is disconnected... its useless)

The only difference btwn a house alarm n car alarm is that the car's signal is a horn... and the house's signal is a data call made thru telephone lines...

[LongBeachCoupe]

more advanced alarm systems come with more coding id assume.... with "if,next,then" schemes complex enough to foil any intruder... or atleast to be alerted...

Battery backup (hook the damn thing to a UPS!)

protected wiring outside (get them sheathed and secured to the house)

Furthermore... this guy could have walked away with a PSP... im single (live with my girlfriend) but id be damned if someone jacked my cartier...

Grab yourself a cheap fireproof safe from staples using some coupons.. i can sugguest a few if you like... whats more important than GETTING a safe is SECURING IT!!!!

People will get a safe and think everything is "protected"... yeah... well if they walk out with the safe.. its still protected!

[desertdragon]

more advanced alarm systems come with more coding id assume.... with "if,next,then" schemes complex enough to foil any intruder... or atleast to be alerted...

Battery backup (hook the damn thing to a UPS!)

protected wiring outside (get them sheathed and secured to the house)

Furthermore... this guy could have walked away with a PSP... im single (live with my girlfriend) but id be damned if someone jacked my cartier...

Grab yourself a cheap fireproof safe from staples using some coupons.. i can sugguest a few if you like... whats more important than GETTING a safe is SECURING IT!!!!

People will get a safe and think everything is "protected"... yeah... well if they walk out with the safe.. its still protected!

LBC, thank you for all the advises.

[spockrock]

I am mad and frustrated as hell now...This past wednesday 5/21, while I was on business travel. My wife took my son to school 7:30 am and when to a shop for a oil change for her car, came back to the house with my 3 years old daugter and discovered that someone broke in to my house.

The guy that did it turned all the breakers off first and went in throu the side door of the garage. The alarm for some reason did not go off. He apparently was looking for small and vauable items.

He did not touch my audio equiment and my big screen TVs and did not destroy the house. He emptied all drawers and took all our watches: 3 Cartier and 1 Rolex, all my wife's jewelries and my son's PSP and some cash.

Since I was out of town, my wife had to deal with all the mess, calling the police and the insurance company, she was scare to dead and I could not get a fly to come home early, I just got home yesteday.

How come the alarm did not go off? Some time in the past, I have had some false alarms and within 5 minutes, the cops would show up.

Dude I feel your pain my house was broken into on the 14th of Feb, early in the day, I was at work, my brother was at school and my was at work. They broke in stole my 360 elite, dvd player, the eeepc I got for my mom, tons of her jewelry, cash and some other stuff. They left all the big stuff, and we were switching to another alarm company, so we were literally in between alarm companies for one day. We did not renew our contract with the old company and Alarmforce was coming in the next day. Insurance covered everything but the jewelry. All the jewelry my dad got for her, and he had just passed away in December. It was balls.

[vballer22]

Maybe it's a west coast suburban house thing, but here in the phoenix suburbs all the houses have breaker panels on the outside too. Maybe it's cuz we dont have basements.

[vballer22]

and sorry for the double post, but insuring little things is a must, like stereo and car stuff. It's not very expensive like auto insurance or home insurance either. Hey LBC, how did you insure your stuff?

[Rev_D21]

That sucks, I'd flip too if my house was rummaged through.

[rjdmmfl1]

I am mad and frustrated as hell now...This past wednesday 5/21, while I was on business travel. My wife took my son to school 7:30 am and when to a shop for a oil change for her car, came back to the house with my 3 years old daugter and discovered that someone broke in to my house.

The guy that did it turned all the breakers off first and went in throu the side door of the garage. The alarm for some reason did not go off. He apparently was looking for small and vauable items.

He did not touch my audio equiment and my big screen TVs and did not destroy the house. He emptied all drawers and took all our watches: 3 Cartier and 1 Rolex, all my wife's jewelries and my son's PSP and some cash.

Since I was out of town, my wife had to deal with all the mess, calling the police and the insurance company, she was scare to dead and I could not get a fly to come home early, I just got home yesteday.

How come the alarm did not go off? Some time in the past, I have had some false alarms and within 5 minutes, the cops would show up.

The thing that pisses you off, and that you don't get over so wuickly is just the feeling of being violated... definately get everything in your house insured this time! It never seems worth it until you need it!!!!

In any case, sorry this happened man, but I do have one question for you and spockrock... why is it that you guys have large amounts of cash lying around the house? I've been into my boys houses where they had safes with large amounts of cash, but they were pharmacists (u know what I mean)

in any case, just wondering why not keep cash in a safe deposit box?

[desertdragon]

In any case, sorry this happened man, but I do have one question for you and spockrock... why is it that you guys have large amounts of cash lying around the house? I've been into my boys houses where they had safes with large amounts of cash, but they were pharmacists (u know what I mean)

in any case, just wondering why not keep cash in a safe deposit box?

Doc, How do you know it was a large amount? Were you in my house?

[mcheddadi]

Doc, How do you know it was a large amount? Were you in my house?

that makes perfect SENSE! O.M.G.!

he tricked us into thinking he got his audio robbed too from his car, but It was a ploy ! AH HA! @ rjdmmfl1

[spockrock]

The thing that pisses you off, and that you don't get over so wuickly is just the feeling of being violated... definately get everything in your house insured this time! It never seems worth it until you need it!!!!

In any case, sorry this happened man, but I do have one question for you and spockrock... why is it that you guys have large amounts of cash lying around the house? I've been into my boys houses where they had safes with large amounts of cash, but they were pharmacists (u know what I mean)

in any case, just wondering why not keep cash in a safe deposit box?

Well we usually do not but the thing was my father passed away and family and well wishers for some reason gave us money, it was a thoughtful gesture but unnecessary. Anyways since we really did not need the money, we were going to donate it to a charitable cause. We had not even decided which charity to give that money away too, when the house was broken into. Seriously whom ever robbed us at the time robbed us at the best time possible.

[adidas2go]

Well we usually do not but the thing was my father passed away and family and well wishers for some reason gave us money, it was a thoughtful gesture but unnecessary. Anyways since we really did not need the money, we were going to donate it to a charitable cause. We had not even decided which charity to give that money away too, when the house was broken into. Seriously whom ever robbed us at the time robbed us at the best time possible.

or unfortunately , it may have been someone that knew you...

when these things happen, it is often someone who knows you (or knows you have recently come into money), or, even more scarily, someone that knows your routine, which means they've been watching your comings and goings

Doc, How do you know it was a large amount? Were you in my house?

naww man, I wouldn't even joke about that! I've heard of people getting their cash taken from their homes before, and I was curious as to the reasons people would keep cash stashed in the house!

[spockrock]

or unfortunately , it may have been someone that knew you...

when these things happen, it is often someone who knows you (or knows you have recently come into money), or, even more scarily, someone that knows your routine, which means they've been watching your comings and goings

We thought that as well..... but we would not even know who would. The thing I am great full is that it happened during the day, and not late in the evening, when I was at the gym, and my brother was at school and my mom coming home from work with the ****er(s) in the house.

[rjdmmfl1]

or unfortunately , it may have been someone that knew you...

when these things happen, it is often someone who knows you (or knows you have recently come into money), or, even more scarily, someone that knows your routine, which means they've been watching your comings and goings

naww man, I wouldn't even joke about that! I've heard of people getting their cash taken from their homes before, and I was curious as to the reasons people would keep cash stashed in the house!

hey guys, this was my post, the homie adidas used my computer yesterday and forgot to log out... sorry bout that

[BlackNWhite]

in any case, just wondering why not keep cash in a safe deposit box?

Or... here's a fresh idea, how about keeping it in your CHECKING/SAVING/CD/MONEY MARKET ETC... ACCT?

I work in a bank and I don't know about other banks but we don't insure anything you have in your safe deposit box. If there's a fire in the bank... your cash is going up in flames. The flames of a fire can get through the cracks.

[08Coupe]

That really sucks!! Sorry man. A good fire safe bolted down in the house is really a great idea (watches and such). Mine uses a credit card reader(pairs to any card you want, but insurance on all items over $1K is really cheap and a must!

[spockrock]

hey guys, this was my post, the homie adidas used my computer yesterday and forgot to log out... sorry bout that

I thought maybe blake got some internet on the carrier........ silly me

[LongBeachCoupe]

sorry for the delay... but i cant understand 1 reason why the access to power is outside your house... and if it is... (as it has been stated here out west)... there is ZERO reason to get an alarm without securing the power source first...

In addition... people mentioned safes... if its not bolted down, its not worth having a safe..

Furthermore i agree with Feelgood (posing as adidas)...

Although i dont know anyone whose been a victim of a home invasion (since college anyways, hempstead is a baaaad place lol)... I can tell you that dr feelgood is on point...

Who has been in your house in the past 2 months... cable guy, refrigerator repair etc... put together a list...

Keeping large amounts of cash (more than $1,000) is enough motivation for MOST thieves.. Keeping large stacks is just asking for trouble... your best friend has a gamb|ing/drug problem you dont know about... or one of his friends who knows how you roll etc...

Furthermore.. if you think the freezer or mattress is a good place to stash things.. you probably think "pa$$word" and "login00" are secure passcodes!