How to Know If Your House Is Being Watched, Marked or Cased by Burglars

Many homeowners are asking whether there are signs that the house is targeted when burglars are on the prowl for new targets. How can you tell someone is about to burgle or case your house without leaving you wrangling and fuming about the loss you have to sustain? Here we list some signs and precautions, and also the suggestions when your house is being cased.

Note: Feel free to take a look at our recently launched home security checklist, designed to help you burglar-proof your home.

Signs Someone Is Casing Your House & Your House Is Being Targeted by Burglars

Mounting evidence support that lurking strikers and intruders are testing out new gimmicks to get access to the new property, which is becoming worrying concerns for many urban dwellers, especially those who live in secluded houses because they are more vulnerable to burglary even in a broad daylight.

We share some commons burglary warning signs, some unusual signs of houses being cased and targeted by burglars

1. Unfamiliar Vehicles: New Cars or Vehicles on the Street or Neighborhood

Unfamiliar vehicles loiter around the neighborhood will surely raise concerns, especially when the vehicle sticks around over an extended period of time and repeatedly shows up on an irregular basis.

Initially, it’s advisable to take note of the license number and make a document with all the pertinent information, including time, date, make of vehicle, description of the person for future reference, more importantly, keep an eye on your property by resorting to home video surveillance if condition permitting.

2. Strangers Walk Around the Street or Neighborhood

People who are living in the same community, neighborhood or village should be familiar with each other. Strangers pretending jogging in the street or walking down the block back and forth should set off a red flag – house casing.

With one of the best security camera system Reolink RLK8-810B4-A, you can monitor your house 24/7 and never miss any unusual events.

3. Door-to-door Scams

Some burglars would do surveillance around the neighborhood by pretending to be a salesman of a utility company, handyman offering free roof repairs or free carpet cleaning, anonymous survey or asking for money and donation for care packages to soldiers, all sorts of door-to-door sales representatives to check out your house.

Many door-to-door scammers are trying to case houses and find out who lives in the home, What time the house would be empty and for how long, what are their weekday schedules (weekends are too unpredictable), what they drive, is there a dog, a hidden key and so on.
Front door security cameras could also record evidence of door-to-door scams.

4. Mark the House with Flyers or Stickers

Burglars will scout potential targets for strikes by sending out commercial flyers or sticking ads around the streets, with which they determine whether the houses are guarded or not.

If you deal with these agitating flyers in a timely manner, you can possibly avoid being stamped a bull’s eye by would-be intruders as they might use flyers to mark the targets for robbery.

Therefore, it comes handy if you have necessary surveillance cameras, like Reolink Argus 3 Pro around your house, especially around entrances, front door, driveway, garage, and patio. What's more, this battery camera has motion spotlights that can deter unwanted visitors once they're triggered.

Or using 4G-enabled security cameras to monitor part of the house where WiFi is out of range, like the backyard, detached garage, or parking areas.(Click here to learn more about the cellular 4G security cameras that can work without Internet.)

5. Toilet Excuse

Many new homeowners might fall for the tricks used by strangers conjuring up an excuse to use the toilet of yours but meanwhile walk away with some valuables of yours.

Or some morning joggers will approach your house for a cup of water or use of the restroom, which could also be an excuse to get a sweep on your property.

If you are concerned with impending dangers or unwanted disturbance, politely reject them and offer alternatives but be sure not to open your door wide open to offer any glimpse of house interior easily.

Words of advice for homeowners are always like directing them to the nearby public toilet or concocting excuse that your water system is malfunctioning or your restroom is temporally occupied.

6. Strangers Request for Help with Different Excuses

Some thieves or burglars will knock at the front door asking for help, say, a glass of water, use of your bathroom, looking for a missing dog, need direction or confirmation of certain things like an ad on Craigslist.

They normally would knock at the door at the time when people are not expected to be home, they will knock at doors around mid-morning and mid-afternoon when most of the housewives are out running errands or out picking up kids in the afternoon.

7. Strange Markings around the House

A recent revelation by police in Scotland about alleged marks used by a burglar is shockingly unsettling but might require extra attention if you happen to stumble on these strangely looking signs.

A ring of professional burglars marks potential targets while canvassing your neighborhood by using seeming random signs, in which they tell their members whether or not the houses are easy targets.

8. Strangers Take Pictures & Walk Away

With the ubiquity of cameras on Smartphone, people can snapshot anywhere anytime, which can give rise to a new type of concerns: canvassing neighborhood with only one click.

If you happen to run into someone, be them as jogger, walkers, paperboy or handymen, taking pictures outside your house or neighbor’s house intentionally, or weaving back and forth from one side to the other taking several pictures of each house, please stay vigilant.

Notify your homeowner association, local police or neighborhood if there are any suspicious activities or keeping a record of any aberrant behaviors.

9. A Simple Glance & Gut Feeling

A glance at strangers, mysteriously and magically, makes you feel something is off instantly, which could be the trigger for warning or sign for further precautions.

Someone who is fidgety, horsing around in unknown streets and interact with people with minimal eye contact and literally bouncy, are possible would-be burglars, especially during rainy nights or stormy nights.

Of course, there are many other signs you can pick up to determine whether your house is being watched or cased.

10. Other Possible Signs

There are many other possible signs that your house is marked or cased and homeowners should be extra cautious, for example, some homeowners found that their welcome mat outside the side door was flipped upside down or a golf ball was left on the front lawn.

Besides, some homeowners point out some strangers pretending to be a handyman or someone who has done repairing work or remodeling job on your new house and they will come back checking out your house.

Home Burglary Statistics

According to the FBI, a home burglary occurs every 13 seconds in the U.S. There are common points of entry that are more venerable to burglary, theft, and break-in.

• 34% of burglars enter through the front door.
• 23% of burglars gain entrance through a first-floor window.
• 22% of burglars break into a home through a back door.
• 9% of burglars enter a home through the garage.
• 4% of burglars get into a home through an unlocked entrance.
• 2% of burglars enter somewhere on the second floor.

See more on home burglary facts and statistics

How to Prevent Homes Being Targeted & Burglarized

Thanks to a survey on how burglars broken into home conducted by KGW’s investigative team on 86 inmates currently serving time for burglary in the Oregon Department of Corrections, we get a better idea how and when burglars break into your house, what they are looking for and what homeowners can do to avoid houses being cased or burglarized.

Here are the breakdowns:

• Buy security cameras for entries and make them visible
• Make the house, front and backyard visible with good lighting
• Trim your bushes and trees regularly
• Put bars on your windows and door
• Have TV or radio on when leaving home
• Know neighbors and alerts police if anything suspicious

You might be surprised by the revelation of convicted criminals about how they approach the house and strike while it also serves a great reminder of how homeowners can do to avoid being targeted.

What to Do When Your House is Being Cased

Interesting and surprisingly, many break-ins and home invasion can be avoided and financial loss could be substantially reduced if homeowners have some security systems in place, report suspicious people around the neighborhood, and alert local police.

Suggestions

• Keep a record or note of suspicious activities such as times of the events, makes of possible vehicle, the appearance of the people in question
• Notify neighbors about suspicious activities
• Inform local police if necessary and requires extra patrolling on the areas
• Shore up home security by installing home security cameras/security systems
• Reinforce doors/windows or other possible entrances

If you have a security system in place, make sure to scan through recorded footages security cameras regularly and pay extra attention to the abnormality inside and outside the house.

Therefore, it’s important to have extra pairs of eyes on the lookout for you whether you are at home or away for holiday. And it’s essential to take some measures to eschew becoming easy targets for burglars.

Conclusion

If your home had been burgled, the trauma and unease in its aftermath, however, is a bell that can't be un-rung, and many burglary victims find it hard to feel safe in their own homes.

For those who have been on an incredible lucky streak and have never been burglarized over the years, it’s essential to keep your eyes peeled and keep your ears on the ground in case any unfortunate might occur.