Your home is your castle, and your first line of defense against unsavory characters is a locked front door. These characters will use pretense and guile to try to gain entry. It’s up to you to defend your castle, keep your door closed, and not let them in.
In addition, you should have a second line of defense – a sturdy, locked screen door. So, if you do open the front door to see who’s there, you’ll still have a safety barrier between you and the other person.
Perhaps we can all learn from the unfortunate experiences of others. Recently, several senior citizens were duped by a pretend plumber, who gained access to the home and then robbed them. The man was wearing a uniform of a well-known plumbing company, even though he didn’t currently work for that company. In fact, he had been fired from the company for dishonesty, but the company didn’t ask him to return his uniform.
The criminal told each of the victims that he had been sent by management to check their pipes. Wanting to comply with what appeared to be official business, these senior citizens allowed this man into their homes. The crook then took advantage of the opportunity to steal anything he could carry.
In another case, an elderly woman opened her front door late at night to discover the man who had previously sold her a vacuum six months earlier. She recognized the young man, who said his car had broken down nearby and asked to use her phone. Unfortunately, this was a ruse to get inside the lady’s home. Once inside, he bound her with duct tape and kept her prisoner for over 25 hours before she was rescued by a sheriff’s deputy. This lady is lucky to be alive.
These stories are alarming, but we can learn three valuable lessons from them.
1. Have a second line of defense, such as a sturdy, locked screen door.
2. Don’t open your door late at night. There is seldom a good reason for anyone to be out knocking on doors at night.
3. Be wary of the “uniform trick”. Anyone can obtain a uniform or name tag, to be used in home invasion robbery schemes. If someone claims to be on official business, call someone to verify that this is true before you let them into your home.
Never let anyone into your home without checking their story and credentials first. Home invasions and burglaries are on the rise; we don’t want you or someone you know to become a victim.
