By Jo Powers - Posted on September 15th, 2009 - 21:33
When it comes to the security and safety of yourself and yourassets, many of us don’t consider the trusted, most unlikely peoplewithin our circle and social circle to be the bad guys. However, theyare just as capable of robbing us as the criminals, intruders andburglars we see on TV and in the movies.
This article isn’t geared towards making you paranoid of everyonearound you. It’s just a reminder that the only people you can reallytrust is me, myself and I. Listed below are 10 of the most unlikely,un-thought of and yet surprisingly, some of the most common thieveswithin our day to day life.
1. Children and Family<-Unfortunately our family are some of the most trusted people in ourlives, and the first ones to do us wrong. Whether it’s your childrenstealing money from your wallet, or other relatives stealing from yourbedroom, the truth is, family is usually the last ones we think wouldhurt us, yet the first ones to betray us.
2. Neighbors and Neighborhood kids<- AlthoughHomeSecurityAdvice.com is adamant about neighborhood watches, andtrusting your neighbors to look after your place when you're out oftown, some neighbors can not be trusted. Unfortunately, this system canwork against you if there is a neighbor who is up to no good. They’rethe ones who are most familiar with our daily schedules, the ones weask to check the mail for us if we’re unable, etc. And if the adultsmisbehave, the possibilities are endless as to what their children cando.
3. Co-Workers<- Most of us, especially ifwe work somewhere for an extended period of time, gain this naturaltrust for our co-workers. We leave our jackets and purses lying aroundwhile we’re busy doing this or busy doing that. Unfortunately, some ofour co-workers have ill intentions and what makes it worse is theunderlying vulnerability we place ourselves in while at work. Althoughdrivers licenses are rarely stolen in the workplace, all it takes is aquick mental note or scribble on a piece of paper and your address isin the wrong hands.
4. Friends and Friends of Trusted Friends<-It happens too many times; You throw a party, a BBQ or a little gettogether and one of your closets friends invites a stranger to comealong. You don’t know this person, yet feel safe with the thoughts thatif your friend trusts them, then you can too. This is one of the worstpositions to be in. You’ve opened your home up to a complete strangerthat you know nothing about, and yet, as the minutes tick by, they seemto get to know you more and more simply based on your collectibles,furniture and pictures hanging on the wall.
5. Utility Installation Workers<-Most companies do their versions of background checks, drug tests andso on to ensure their customers the people they hire are trustworthy.But it’s important to remember that a person doesn’t have to be ondrugs, nor does their background need to include any wrong doing.People are people. Installation workers, whether they’re from thecable, phone, electric or gas company are people, just like you and me.With that said, occasionally and especially when they have access inyour home, these trusted people can become likely suspects in a homeinvasion. All it takes is for them to strike up a conversation withyou, asking “so what are your plans for the weekend?” and if you’rereally excited about the weekend trip of a lifetime you’ve been waitingfor is taking place this weekend, you’re probably going to spill thebeans. While you’re busy thinking about the end of the week, they couldbe scoping out your living room, bedroom, ways to gain entrance, etc.They could also be checking to see if you take home securityprecautions like an alarm system, cameras, dogs, or even window films.If the coast is clear, they could be returning this weekend.
6. Admin and Paper Pushers<-Any document you place your home address on leaves the possibility openfor someone to simply Map Quest your address and make their way to yourhome. This could be at the doctor’s office, dentists, grocery store,bank, veterinarian’s office, etc. Unfortunately these places, althoughhighly thought of, can attract the wrong type of employees. And onceyour private information falls into the wrong hands it could be a callfor disaster.
7. Door-to-Door Salesmen<- Itdoesn’t matter what they’re selling. The moment they knock, and youopen the door, they have a glimpse into your home, and your prizepossessions. Most door salesmen spend a significant amount of time(several days) inside neighborhoods. This gives them a chance to gainknowledge of the neighbors, whose home, who’s not and which neighbor ischecking the other neighbor’s mail or picking up their newspaper sothey don’t build. Door-to-door salesmen, though they are usuallybriefly in our lives, tend to be trusted because of this briefness.Homeowners brush them off without a second thought. But they know whereyou live, they have access to learning your schedule, and they’ve hadat least one chance to get an idea of what’s behind your front door.
8. Landlords and Relatives/Friends of Landlords<-Tenants know that besides themselves and whomever they give a spare keytoo, the landlord has a spare key. Unfortunately, all too often ourlandlords do not do a good enough job of hiding the spare key, leavingit accessible to anyone in their inner circle. Although the landlordsthemselves are generally trusted with our belongings, it’s hard totrust their relatives and friends and anyone whom we don’t know:strangers.
9. Postal Workers<- This could beanyone from the mailman, to the FedEx or UPS driver. I’m not trying togive these people a bad name. Again, they just happen to be people wedon’t consider untrustworthy until it’s too late. They have access toour mail, our deliveries, our subscriptions and our home addresses.
10. Delivery Drivers<-It’s late at night and you don’t want to cook. So what do you do? Mostof us call and have food delivered. It doesn’t matter which type offood, as long as it kills the hunger pain. Unfortunately most mom andpop shops, pizza parlors and even flower shops hire whomever they canin order to get their deliveries delivered on time. So what does thismean? Well, just like with #7, once you open your front door, you openyour home up to a completely trustworthy, yet complete stranger. Thisperson now knows your home address, and unfortunately they know littlethings about you like the size of your TV or entertainment system;things of value.
As mentioned before, thisarticle isn’t meant to put the fear in you so you begin to lack trustfor everyone around you, it’s simply to make you aware of how easy itis for a so-called trusted person within society to break that trustand ruin your life. Trust is a big issue for some of us and it’s nowonder why.
