Got Broken Into Yesterday

[pokoal2000]

Once my wife had a call at work that our house has been broken into. She rushed home and found the police with the villain outside the house. Apparently neighbor call the police, they came and found this man standing inside our living room. He told them that he could not find anything to nick and looked very unhappy. Lol. They took him away and that was the end of the story.

[leisurely]

Get some contents insurance

[bkkmick]

Never in Bangkok. Twice in London and once in Belfast. I hope I haven't jinxed myself by saying that!

[Johpa]

Once my wife had a call at work that our house has been broken into. She rushed home and found the police with the villain outside the house. Apparently neighbor call the police, they came and found this man standing inside our living room. He told them that he could not find anything to nick and looked very unhappy. Lol. They took him away and that was the end of the story.

One of the good things about living in a rural village is that the neighbors tend to include relatives and everyone watches out for the other's property. Most homes have those stylized iron bars over their windows to deter theft and the homes are built with sturdy hardwood doors That being said, household theft is still common, usually involving neighboring locals from a village down the road who get addicted to drugs. While our own lost youth burglarize their villages. And sometimes the yaa baa addicted youth burglarize homes in their native village, perhaps one of the reasons the rural folks had no issues with Thakisn's drcaonian anti-drug efforts.

Our home has never been targeted even though its sits empty most of the year and I am the only Farang in the immediate region. I like to think it is beacuse we have always donated to and supported local causes, helped local families, and hosted a yearly party where everyone is invited.

[farangconnection]

Oh sorry.....................................I have in Thailand. That's if you count shoplifting by a Farang customer.

[phazey]

We had a lot of petty theft in the place i used to live in. As is the mantra here "if you've no proof, you've no case" we had laptops setup with webcams & motion detection software - as soon as there was something captured it emails the video/pictures to gmail. Caught the guy literally red handed. (turned out to be a light fingered security guard)

In my new place i've those heavy steel gates. I'm uneasy about locking them in case of an emergancy, yet also a tad worried if there is an unwelcome visitor during the night.

[jeffrosner]

Just curious how many people have had their house, condo, or apartment broken into?

I came home from work yesterday to find the door to my condo bashed in. A laptop that I just bought last week and a digital camera were stolen. Everything else was searched through and the place was a mess. Luckily, I don't keep any gold or cash in the room. Talk about being pissed off. But I only have good things to say about the owner and the police. The owner arrived very quickly and the door is going to be fixed asap with a metal gate on the outside now. The police came followed by the investigative police who took pics but no fingerprints. Went to the police station to give a statement and have no complaints. It's a decent building and I've lived here over a year now and never had a problem or heard of any problems before.

Also, since this has happened once how likely is it that they will break in again and completely clean me out? I'm thinking about moving and looking for advice on that. Now that they know I don't keep cash or gold maybe it's not worth coming back, but what about when I replace the laptop...

Buy a safe. But don't tell the safe company where to deliver - pick it up yourself.

Did you give the laptop store your address? Mr. Rosner believes that criminals are more likely than not. The smiling salesman who sold it to you probably lifted it as well.

A good safe would have bought you more time and they are cheap.

Mr. Rosners recommends them highly.

[Furbie]

Just curious how many people have had their house, condo, or apartment broken into?

I came home from work yesterday to find the door to my condo bashed in. A laptop that I just bought last week and a digital camera were stolen. Everything else was searched through and the place was a mess. Luckily, I don't keep any gold or cash in the room. Talk about being pissed off. But I only have good things to say about the owner and the police. The owner arrived very quickly and the door is going to be fixed asap with a metal gate on the outside now. The police came followed by the investigative police who took pics but no fingerprints. Went to the police station to give a statement and have no complaints. It's a decent building and I've lived here over a year now and never had a problem or heard of any problems before.

Also, since this has happened once how likely is it that they will break in again and completely clean me out? I'm thinking about moving and looking for advice on that. Now that they know I don't keep cash or gold maybe it's not worth coming back, but what about when I replace the laptop...

Buy a safe. But don't tell the safe company where to deliver - pick it up yourself.

Did you give the laptop store your address? Mr. Rosner believes that criminals are more likely than not. The smiling salesman who sold it to you probably lifted it as well.

A good safe would have bought you more time and they are cheap.

Mr. Rosners recommends them highly.

This is a good point, I always use my biz address when registering something. You can also get a PO box, I had one for a year or so. It is easier to use the biz address so I stopped using the PO box. Also prevents the GF from seeing my credit card bills and bank statements and knowing how much I have.

[Ping]

Just curious how many people have had their house, condo, or apartment broken into?

I came home from work yesterday to find the door to my condo bashed in. A laptop that I just bought last week and a digital camera were stolen. Everything else was searched through and the place was a mess. Luckily, I don't keep any gold or cash in the room. Talk about being pissed off. But I only have good things to say about the owner and the police. The owner arrived very quickly and the door is going to be fixed asap with a metal gate on the outside now. The police came followed by the investigative police who took pics but no fingerprints. Went to the police station to give a statement and have no complaints. It's a decent building and I've lived here over a year now and never had a problem or heard of any problems before.

Also, since this has happened once how likely is it that they will break in again and completely clean me out? I'm thinking about moving and looking for advice on that. Now that they know I don't keep cash or gold maybe it's not worth coming back, but what about when I replace the laptop...

Buy a safe. But don't tell the safe company where to deliver - pick it up yourself.

Did you give the laptop store your address? Mr. Rosner believes that criminals are more likely than not. The smiling salesman who sold it to you probably lifted it as well.

A good safe would have bought you more time and they are cheap.

Mr. Rosners recommends them highly.

Mr Rosner did not read post #19

[quiksilva]

if you are living in a gated community or have security, the thief is usually - believe it or not - one of the security guards.

Oh really.......

I will tell you the real fact:

It's usually a neighbour or a very close friend or Family member, best bet is neighbour, second is friend who knows what you have in your house.

Really. Three times in Thailand and thanks to a visit by boy in brown to the security guard from the condo up the street it stopped, maybe the security guard was being more diligent, maybe.

After managing a very large condo project in Bangkok for several years I would say that the most likely candidates for theft are maids and cleaning staff, well they are the ones who have been caught most often anyway.

Especially disgruntled maids, you know the ones you sack because they dyed our shirt pink one time too many?

[SDH]

Just curious how many people have had their house, condo, or apartment broken into?

My house got broken into 3 times in Chiang Mai, turned out to be some people who worked for me and knew where we were all the time. Screw that crap I moved into a high rise condo with a bunch of security, no problems since!!

[lazeeboy]

Just curious how many people have had their house, condo, or apartment broken into?

My house got broken into 3 times in Chiang Mai, turned out to be some people who worked for me and knew where we were all the time. Screw that crap I moved into a high rise condo with a bunch of security, no problems since!!

got broken into 3 times in 5 days a few years back ,now got the surcurity money can buy....the mother in law

[flightcrew1]

Here at Silom Suite Condo we had several breakin's last year. 5 condo's on one floor with the door just kicked in and all during the middle of the day 12 to 2pm. Security and cleaning crew were all fired. This is "supposed" to be a high end condo so people I suppose let their guard down with only the normal original single locks on their door. I quickly upgraded and the building now has installed CCTV.

[lordsux]

Never in Thailand.............. but once a year in Ramsgate

Never in Margate - once in Brussels ;-)

I didn't think that people in Margate or Ramsgate had anything worth stealing.

[Ludacris]

Thanks to everyone for their advice.

First off I think a safe is a ridiculous idea. Then they would break in and hold you at gun point to get your valuables instead of breaking in when you're not home. And who wants to put a laptop in and out of a safe everyday.

I've gone back and forth more than a dozen times deciding whether to stay or move out and finally decided to move. The biggest deciding factor was knowing I could never buy anything new in the future as well as never go on vacation because I would always be so worried. Another reason was I can't walk past whoever did this to me on a regular basis and have them smile at me...

I'm now moving to a big high-rise that should have much better security. It's more expensive but worth it for the peace of mind.

My new room is smaller so I need to sell my olympic sized weight bench and will throw in my entertainment center for free with the purchase of it. See the classified section for more details.

[tartempion]

Twice this year.

Walled house compound, nothing went missing though, we heard the visitors the second time, I scared them away, upsetting the gf who called her nearby living parents (1 km), wanted them beaten-up and jailed.