Home Security:
Cracks in Home Defense

Home Security breaches oftentimes involve subtle variations of Break-In, Walk-In, Push-In, Scam-In, and Mug-In home invasions. Always remember the overall warning signs of all predatory strategies: someone is trying to get near you or isolate you! THAT'S your tip-off! And, think beyond the obvious:

Soon after moving into a quiet neighborhood, Vivian, a single woman, awoke one night with the feeling of something cold pressing against her throat. Sleepily, she grabbed at it and, with a gasp, realized it was a knife. In her pitch-black bedroom, an invisible man’s voice hissed, "Shut up or I'll kill you!" .... In a shrieking panic, she clamped her hand around the blade and struggled for control until he wrenched it from her grip, gashing her palm. Expecting the knife to begin plunging into her, she kept screaming until she finally realized he had vanished back into the night. .... Vivian had always carefully followed all the home security rules and was certain nothing would harm her. And she was mostly right... except for one little thing... She didn't know that the previous owner had given a key to the next-door neighbor and forgotten about it hanging in the neighbor’s kitchen. But the neighbor’s cousin didn’t forget when he saw Vivian moving in. And the neighbor didn't notice when the key disappeared .... The cousin’s arrest revealed that Vivian’s real-life nightmare never would've struck had she simply changed the door-locks when she’d first moved into her home. Sometimes the littlest things....

Have a locksmith re-key the door locks (reset the tumblers) when you first move into a home, or if ever you lose a key. Never put ID tags on keys hoping some kind soul will return lost keys to you – the finder may not be a kind soul. Don't hang keys on hooks in plain view inside your home – any visitor can steal them. ... For home security, treat your keys like gold. Clever criminals can quickly make copies. Even hairdressers have made copies for partners while a client is preoccupied. Give mechanics and parking valets your car keys only, never your house keys.

Raymond Prinkey pleaded guilty to raping a woman after he broke into her home using a key he found underneath a flowerpot. Excerpted from The Uniontown Herald Standard (PA) – 31 October 2006

Everyone knows the common “secret” hiding spots for keys, such as under the doormat or on top of the doorframe. For better home security, get a Keyless Fingerprint or Touch-pad deadbolt lock (see Security Products - Door Reinforcement). Tell a friend or repairman the secret code to allow temporary access then change the code afterward.

Home Security: Controlling Your Phone - Barring Intruders

Contact the National Do Not Call Registry at www.donotcall.gov. Also beware of scammers calling you and claiming to represent do-not-call registries and requesting personal information.

A single woman should have an unlisted number, Caller ID with Call Block of unidentified calls, and screen her calls with a phone answering machine. The “greeting” should say only, “Hello. This is (your phone number). Please leave your message. Thanks.”

Also see 911 Calls: how to do it right.

Home Security: Want-Ads

Wilcox used the Parkers anniversary announcement in the paper to hunt them down - robbing and killing them.
Excerpted from KZTV-10 Corpus Christi – 29 January 2004

A man pretended he was interested in buying the home-for-sale, produced a gun, and looted the house.
Excerpted from KBO-TV4 Albuquerque – 06 December 2005

Katherine Ann Olson went to Michael John Anderson’s home for a baby-sitting job she had seen advertised on Craigslist, an Internet bulletin board. Olson thought she was responding to a woman or a couple in need of babysitting. Olson's body was later found in the trunk of her car. ... A California college student went missing after she met a convicted sex offender on Craigslist. In Philadelphia, a man was accused of raping seven women, six of whom he met on the dating site Match.com.
Excerpted from CBS News Minneapolis – 31 October 2007

Several of the popular Craigslist web site's users have been held up at gunpoint by individuals posing as buyers and sellers, according to a number of police departments. Many users think nothing of inviting strangers to their home to inspect a used futon or laptop computer for sale. ... The cases show the potential dangers of meeting with strangers to make a transaction, whether the parties first connect through the Internet or via a newspaper classified advertisement. They also underscore the need for taking precautions, such as meeting in public, to reduce the risk.
Excerpted from The San Francisco Chronicle – 21 July 2006

The man came with a polite smile, casually elegant attire, and curious questions about the house for sale. He suddenly flashed a knife and raped the homeowner.
Excerpted from The Boston Globe – 06 August 2005

Harley Tapp said he had seen his attacker several days before the assault. On the day of the attack, the assailant visited the yard sale several times, but other customers were present and the man left. Later, the man returned and guided Tapp into the detached garage by asking for items kept there. As Tapp reached up to get an item, the man grabbed a nearby hatchet and struck Tapp at least eight times.
Excerpted from The Knoxville News Sentinel – 23 September 2006

Responding to a woman’s newspaper want-ad to sell a used wedding dress, a man claiming to be a theatrical costume designer pulled a gun and raped her. The police said clothing want-ads were his specialty.

Criminals read your want-ads, home-for-sale, obituary notices, wedding announcements, etc. to breach your home security.

[See Newsletter-09-Dec-08 for criminal lures in newspaper want-ads and on websites such as Craigslist.]

ONE SOLUTION for home-based sales is to have friends or neighbors nearby – but not too near (so they can always get away to call police) whenever a stranger is visiting you – any stranger (females or even kids often work with male predators). This ruins a criminal’s anonymity and isolation advantages and will deter most such criminals.

Home Security: Hired Help

Convicted of killing Janice Vredenburg in her Wichita home three years ago, Tanner Green coolly returned to court – this time as a witness in a lawsuit pitting her family against his former employer. The lawsuit centers on what National Catastrophe Restoration Inc. knew – or should have known – about Green's criminal background when they hired him. The job gave Green his first access to Vredenburg's home, which meandered into a neighborhood with manicured lawns where people felt secluded from violence.
Excerpted from The Wichita Eagle – 02 May 2003

A newspaper carrier for the Tulsa World, who was arrested for assaulting a customer in her home, has confessed to killing at least two other woman on his delivery route. Paul Williford, 64, had been a contracted carrier for the paper and had served time in prison for felony assault. His past was not known because the paper does not conduct background checks on independent contractors. Williford gained access to the victim's home by purposely not delivering her paper so that she would call him to ask for it. When she called, he could deliver the paper in person and gain entry.
Excerpted from Editor & Publisher – 26 October 2005

Sue Weaver didn't expect a convicted sex offender to walk through her front door after calling for an air conditioning repairman from a well-known company. He cleaned Weaver's air ducts, then returned to rape and kill her. ... The story is eerily similar to the case of Joshua Bryant and Lillian Martin. Police believe the 10-year-old boy and his 77-year-old grandmother were killed by an electrician who had performed work earlier in their home. ... A criminal background check on both killers would have revealed a past riddled with felony convictions. However, those checks were never done, nor does Florida law require it. ... Jeffrey McDonnell, a crime prevention sergeant says as a personal rule he never allows a stranger into his home unless he is present. He knows the lives of his wife and children could be at stake.
Excerpted from The Daytona Beach News-Journal – 12 June 2004

Even big companies and employment agencies rarely conduct criminal background checks on their employees. Keep your valuables hidden and check for home security breaches after they leave, in case someone unlocked a window.

Scarsdale NY – Seven alleged gang members have been arrested for a violent home invasion robbery. Police said the ringleader was casing the neighborhood as he worked in the area doing housework and landscaping. The armed robbers pushed their way inside after a female suspect pretended to be lost and in need of help. Once inside, the intruders tied up the homeowners and their 18-year-old daughter at gunpoint.
Excerpted from WNBC-TV4 – 07 September 2007

Freeport NY – Johnny Cerda operated a landscaping company where he cut lawns and trimmed hedges, but also masterminded a slew of robberies in the area. Police say he set up his clientele for robberies that at times turned violent. He gave members of his robbery crew the names and addresses of his customers he believed had large amounts of cash and jewelry inside their homes.
Excerpted from WPIX-TV (New York NY) – 22 October 2009

EX-CON HANDYMAN BEATS EMPLOYER INTO COMA
A Long Island handyman is accused of nearly killing a woman who employed him. Police say Ruthell Williams hired Keith Land as a handyman for home improvement, unaware that Land was a violent career criminal with a lengthy prison record. It's a fact easily discovered by typing his name into the state's Corrections Department website. ... Land, out on parole, burglarized and bashed in her head when Williams awoke and confronted him.
Excerpted from WCBS-TV.com Newark NJ – 01 September 2009

An 83-year-old woman and her 94-year-old husband were at home when Juan Stephan McCray entered and she confronted the intruder. McCray, a paroled felon with a long record of violent crime, beat her and robbed the home. ... Police say McCray is married to a home health care worker caring for the elderly man, who had been incapacitated by a stroke. ... The 83-year-old woman was so badly beaten that she underwent brain surgery.
Excerpted from The Albany Times Union (NY) – 10 November 2009

Thoroughly check out baby-sitters, nannies, gardeners, cleaners, and anyone you allow into your home. Fugitives often apply for domestic jobs to avoid scrutiny. Check references with local police at his/her past addresses. Check a moving company's references with the Better Business Bureau at www.bbb.org. See Child Safety - Safeguarding for babysitter home security. Also see Child Safety - Recap for checking the background of anyone able to defy your home security.

Home Security: PEEPING TOMS

Home Security: Mail-Bombs and Biologically Dangerous Mail

Wayne Greavette was killed when he flicked on a flashlight, containing explosives, in a parcel mailed to him anonymously and delivered by Canada Post.
Excerpted from The Toronto Star – 07 November 2003

Suspicious signs include excessive postage or wrapping, stains or odors (some explosives smell like almond or marzipan), is lopsided or lumpy, seems to contain a powdery substance, or marked as “Personal” or “Confidential.” Businesses usually don’t use handwritten labels. If you’re suspicious, do not touch it, open doors and windows (to minimize the effects of a blast), leave the vicinity and keep others out, then call the police.

Complete Home Defense: burglary prevention and the best home security products - from home security hardware to burglar alarm equipment

Safeguard your home security even if you live in Sleepy Valley - predators like to prowl where the prey least expect them.

Prevent the vast majority of home intrusions - whether by burglar or invader by making sure all your family members use these home security strategies. Of course, predators will always find prey – but the most cautious targets will be spared.

HOME SECURITY

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