Date: June 25, 2015
Every 15.4 seconds a burglary occurs somewhere in the United States. As frightening as this is, now home invasions are on the rise. We are told that 38% of all assaults will occur during a home invasion. 60% of rapes occur during a home invasion. Victims are injured in 47% of home invasions. The most common home invasion entry point is the front door.
There are two ways the bad guys get into our homes. One is by forced entry. The other is to trick someone in the home to open the door whereby the criminal can force their way into your home.
Here are some of the common tricks that are used:
1. The poor person. This person needs to use your phone or bathroom. They say they had their phone stolen, were in an accident and must call someone. Do not fall for this trick!
2. The Ed McMahon trick. They will tell you that you have won a sweepstakes. Unless Ed himself is standing there, do not open the door.
3. The utilities worker. You will be told they are checking for a gas leak in your house. They may even have on uniforms. Do not open the door. Call the company and verify before opening the door.
4. Delivery. Someone has sent you flowers, pizza delivery that you didn’t order. Do not open the door unless you see the flower truck or you have verified the delivery. If you didn’t the order the pizza, do not open the door.
5. Cable guy. He is there to give you free channels. He is there to fix your cable. He may be the one who cut the power to your tv to make you think you have a problem. The cable company will call you to let you know before anyone arrives, but you can also call to verify.
Written by: Donnie Cantwell, Tampa Branch Manager
