Thieves marking empty houses

[gabys1st]

Thieves leaving markers. Bit of a PSA - keep an eye out for markers being put in front of your home, & if you?re away ask your neighbour to keep an eye. For example, I?ve just arrived home to find a food waste bin moved from its normal spot & placed in front of our door. If it doesn?t get moved tonight then thieves will assume nobody?s at home & target the place. Don?t let these bastards ruin your holiday time

East Dulwich, London, GB-ENG

copied from Next Door

[KidKruger]

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[Chick]

Three o'clock this morning our door bell rang. My wife went down and no-one was there. Door bell went at five o'clock I went down and no-one there. Maybe nothing but rather odd.

[Nigello]

If you are away and your bins are being left out, ask a neighbour to put them back inside your front yard, etc. That way you will be doing something to deter those who are marking houses for potential burglary but also keeping the footpaths clear for those who are less able to see or negotiate them. (And fit deadlock/alarm!)

[gabys1st]

That has happenedto us, possibly encouraged by fact that altho we have a forexourt we don't have a car in in it.

[Countrlass22]

We not had that but

We have had door bell rang just slightly once at 5 or 4am hubby said didn't hear it I did didn't go look.

And few times at 7am go nobody there i will make note re food bin moved etc

Whats pca?

[Sue]

I just googled it.

Apparently it's "Public Service Announcement".

That's interesting about the doorbells, because quite a few times in the early hours I've thought I heard the door bell and gone down and there was no one there.

I always thought it was some kind of annoying auditory hallucination which unnecessarily woke me up 🙄

[Moovart]

If you have one of those battery operated push button bells with the plug in ringer they sometimes ring spontaneously esp when the battery needs changing.

[Sue]

Moovart Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> If you have one of those battery operated push

> button bells with the plug in ringer they

> sometimes ring spontaneously esp when the battery

> needs changing.

Mine is an old fashioned wind-up one.

There's no way it could ring spontaneously, unless I've got a poltergeist (I haven't 🤣)

[Chick]

I am beginning to think my two ding dongs were down to radio frequency interference.

[Finderloo]

Also had a middle of the night doorbell ring over the festive period.. have mentioned this thread to neighbours, thanks all.

[I hammer]

This thread made me think... Cos about 7 yrs ago I was burgled in Sydenham.. 1st floor flat.

Tonight I just got home... And my gas metre box flap was open.... I'm sure it wasn't open yesterday.

(I'm also aware it's very windy but surely it wouldn't open due to wind).

Is anyone else aware of metre reader flaps being a signal to would be burglars?

[yeknomyeknom]

Our bell has rung in the middle of the night too at about 3 am. More than once.

[KidKruger]

My gas meter box has rattled open previously during particularly windy periods FYI.