Jill, its awful to lose your belongings, especially sentimental items, but the feeling of having your space invaded is worse. The thought of some creep coming in your house and touching your stuff is awful.

Authorities are closing in on a sprawling network of South American bandits who arrive as “tourists,” then plunder the homes of the rich—eluding police on three continents

they originate in Chile before flying to a designated country, generally on a 90-day tourist visa. Once overseas, they move from city to city, committing crimes, fencing their goods, and sending home their illicit gains—before returning to Chile and, many times, heading out on the road again. “Some come here to work every day,”

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/02/a-vast-burglary-ring-from-chile-has-been-targeting-wealthy-us-households

Which is challenging as in 2018 pawn shops were required to start recording client information, and the client was required to have the government ID, a Visa would suffice.

Our neighbors’ house was broken into a few weeks ago. Breakins are unusual in our neighborhood but they do happen once in awhile.

The bad guys were caught. They were white citizens, not undocumented people. Bad guys.

Dee, as Willie Sutton said when asked why he robbed banks, “Because that's where the money is.” . Im sure these rings go where the the opportunities exist.

"Why travel 12 hours in a plane?" Since we are the most affluent country, with a very large population and communities of wealthy residents, it would make it worth it. The people doing the crimes are likely expendable low wage workers who are working for a cartel. If they get arrested or killed, they are just replaced by some other poor person. That is what the shoplifting rings do. Hire very poor people to steal from retail stores (high value items that can be sold easily). If they get arrested, they are abandoned by the bosses and replaced by others.

Article dated February 2022…

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/02/a-vast-burglary-ring-from-chile-has-been-targeting-wealthy-us-households

Oly, I read in one article that they bail people out and flee the country so I didn't think it's a trafficking issue. I'm sure there's more than one group so who knows?

I did see one article that said that they spend time planning lucrative crimes like targeting wealthy households but also do pickpocketing, breaking into cars, etc.

Totally unrelated, but shelter dogs need homes.

Even the little ones are useful noise machines.

Dogs also make good pets!

Yes, dogs are great alarm systems. Im sure these burglars avoid houses with dogs.

A good friend was robbed of her jewelry about month ago. Not sure if this is related to the Chili.

I was saddened to hear that it was all taken. I surprised that she didn't have especially sentimental pieces put in a safe box, or least “ hide” it.

The robber knew what he was doing, he left all the boxes open and did not take the costume jewelry.

It happened at 1:00 in the afternoon, an hour after her husband left the house to go back work.

She now has an alarm. Her husband always felt since their home is one of the smaller ones, a robber wouldn't bother.

She recently had workers in her home. The police said robberies often happen after having repairs or renovations done.

She recently had workers in her home. The police said robberies often happen after having repairs e

They are here, too. They broke into several houses in our area. They steal cars, drive to a street behind the target house, cut through yards or fields or woods. They broke into my late parents’ house. I had already removed all the jewelry and cash. They came in through the dining room patio doors, bypassed the Bacarat and Waterford crystal on the table (that I’d washed before selling it; they want only jewelry and cash), set off the motion detector, realized the house is vacant, took the trouble to find the alarm control panel and rip it off the off wall, and were gone before the police arrived.

Same MO as other houses around here. Some neighborhood HOAs have license plate readers, which have been marginally useful. When the vehicle is stolen, and it usually is, not so useful.

The police have told me, they operate differently than the ”gypsies”, it’s a different style.

We have been having a lot of break-ins on the mid peninsula. Years ago we were having carpet replaced and one of the workers pulled up a corner and found some jewelry I had hidden there and forgot about. I was in the room and he handed it to me. A few days later someone had broken into the bedroom window. We never had any crime in the area so I'm pretty sure it was the carpet installer. Luckily, I hadn't put the jewelry under the rug.

Another time, different house, we left for a week vacation. Came back to find the front door wide open. Nothing was touched. Not a single thing. Then my husband remembered he had run back into the house for something and forgot to close the door. It stayed wide open for a week and you could see the door from the street. That was then, this is now.

@dedtired - You are 100% on target with your comments about having your space invaded. My house was burglarized in my mid 20's; the thief was interupted by my roomate who came home. I was uncomfortable coming home to an empty house and being alone in the house for the longest time.

I have a terrible habit of leaving the house with the back door unlocked. Actually, I lost the key years ago and haven't gotten around to having a new door knob/lock set installed. It does lock from the inside though.

Also, I often am doing yard work some ways from the house, so anyone may see me out mowing or working and slip in through the unlocked back door. I've watched that TV series, "I Survived" way too many times.

I am too paranoid to leave the door unlocked, even if working outside in the yard. Several neighborhods ago, the "gypsies" came through and robbed a neighbor that was outside. One distracted, one entered backdoor. When we leave or go to bed, the alarm is on and it's monitored.

There are large groups that roam the U.S. robbing homes and businesses. One is a very large (1400+ people) international crime ring that recently had four of their Romanian nationals members arrested in Missouri after robbing a jewelry store in northwest Florida of more than 1M in jewelry. They left in their (stolen?) SUV, abandoned and got a ride from a woman that gave them a ride (!!!!!!) after they told her their car had broken down. One of the suspects had used their phone to call her after she dropped them off (no idea why), so the SO was able to submit for a warrant and track the phone. This led them to connect with a NYPD Detective and a United Kingdom PO. They had warrants in more than a half dozen states. The Secret Service, Dept of Homeland Security, the FBR and multiple state and local agencies were involved. They had been tracked in California, Utah, Colorado, Pennsylvania, New York, Florida, Kansas and Missouri.

Another MO here, mainly the Romany, is to be from a utility, or tree service, etc, ask or tell a homeowner about work going on in or near their yard and wanting to discuss the impact on their yard. When you go out in the backyard with one, another slips in your front door.

Another is to approach you while you are working or something in your front yard, and distract you while their partner goes inside. Or, they get you to take them inside.

Another is, you are in the back yard, so they go in through the garage.

We keep our doors locked, even when we are out in the yard, the garage door is closed.

I remember years ago, like 40, Oprah had someone on who advised keeping the door from garage to house locked, car doors locked even when in the garage. Around here, enough people don’t, or forget to, lock their car doors when they are in the driveway, day or night. Cars are stolen, including the openers, and anything that was in the car.

When I lived in Dallas, there was an interesting string of crimes that seemd connected but the police couldn’t quite make the connection. Turns out, staff hired to work an event at a home would find their calendar or date book, and find future events that the hosts, and others, would be at, and rob THOSE houses while they were at the other events!

You have to be careful, and vigilant.

Yes, years ago I had someone come to my front door with some cockamamie story about having extra food he couldn’t deliver. and did I want to buy it for a bargain price. I am sure he was distracting me so someone could go in the back. My house is so small,I can see the back from the front. I immediately closed the doormon him and kept my eye on the back door.

The trickery is endless. My friend had all her rings stolen when she was gardening in front of the house and someone slipped in the back and tookmher rings off the windowsill,where she put themmso they wouldn’t get dirty.

A few robberies in my neighborhood too that happened in the daytime when no one was home. I am often surprised when I read on my neighborhood face book page, ”Need a dog sitter the week of June 10th”. What are people thinking?

One has to be careful of conflating correlation with causation.

Anyone who would use the term "illegal aliens" has most assuredly never held a conversation with one. It tends to change one's perception when they're able to stop "othering" their fellow human beings and start seeing how very much alike we are.

The majority of undocumented here work in low level service jobs that American citizens won't take. You can't really steal a job from someone who won't "lower themselves" to do that job in the first place.

Not to go as far as out and out blaming the victim--I don't want to do that, but I think social media, and various phone and computer apps has contributed to the amount of "intelligence" that people who want to commit crimes can gather and use in their occupation.

I know people who literally announce every single move they make on social media and their privacy settings are such that it announces it to hundreds or thousands of people. (I get information about people I am not even friends with because they tag people who I am friends with, for example). It's primarily narcissistic and showing off for some people, and since they want to disseminate all this great stuff about themselves, they are also FB friends or on Instagram or whatever with every single person or business they run across, hundreds or even thousands of people. Even I see their new purchases, where they are away on vacation, where they are out to dinner, where they are at any particular moment and who they are with, including their dog who would bark if someone tried to break in.

On top of this, some people literally never actually physically go and buy something themselves. They get everything delivered. Amazon Prime is at their house daily. Food is delivered daily. Dog food is delivered everything is brought right to the front door, and since most people still tend to squeeze a job into their social lives somewhere, they are not home when all of these packages arrive.

Interesting. Home robberies are way down in the US.

https://www.forbes.com/home-improvement/home-security/home-invasion-statistics/#:~:text=The%20current%20burglary%20rate%2C%20including,above%20271%20cases%20per%20100%2C000.

Yeah, after I turned off the computer last night and was watching TV, I was thinking, did I just announce to the cyber world that I leave my back door unlocked?

I get most deliveries sent to my dad’s house, as it’s out in the country … we’re very close to downtown, very busy neighborhood, and with front doors easy to see and access from the sidewalk.

I haven’t heard of robberies in our immediate area, but as our town quickly grows, so does crime.

When I was a kid, before my mother became sick, she, my sister, and I came home to our house in Dallas — back door was wide open, someone had broken in. My mother called the police, then got a big knife from the kitchen and went room to room. Everything was ransacked, it was bad. I can’t remember what was stolen.

But as mentioned above, the feeling of being violated was awful.

I agree about foolish use of social media. Almost every day I see an announcement on our local FB page about needing pet care for a certain date or that they have reservations at such and such restaurant at 7 that evening. Posting pictures while still on vacation.

I had planned to ship a gift to a relative in Philadelphia today. After reading through this thread I am now having it delivered to the local post office for customer pickup.

Unfortunately once skilled and silent violations of homes for burglaries by professional groups becomes more widespread, I fear that another big criminal money maker, also widespread in some countries- kidnappings, will not be far behind.

Agree use of social media makes it easy to track people’s whereabouts, and wherenotabouts 😎 We do not have sophisticated burglars in our area and small town Ga is not likely on the Chilean robbery ring itinerary. Good common sense and an awareness of what’s going on in your neighborhood are the best protections against the kind of harm you can reasonably avoid... and that includes using alarms and not announcing vacation plans.

In the United States, kidnapping by someone who is a stranger, for ransom, is extremely rare because of laws put in place after the Lindbergh kidnapping IIRC. "Stranger Danger" is somewhat of a mistake. Children are at most risk at the hands of family members, boyfriends of mom, in custodial issues or someone the child already knows. Most cases are custodial, predatory-abuse-homicide, not for financial gain by a stranger.

That is true now, agreed. I do not think that any laws will stop a future trend by organizations in any country that can send cheap replaceable criminals to do their bidding.

Since home burglaries are down the last 10 or so years, blaming undocumented people shouldn’t be a thing. Should it?

I don't know, maybe, but I think there is quite a leap between stealing things when no one is home and being willing to hold someone captive and possibly kill them if necessary. Plus the sheer logistics of getting in and out of a house in a matter of minutes and out of the area entirely in a short period of time vs. having a captive and having to communicate with people. Plus the logistics of doing so if you don't live in the country to begin with.

There's even a leap between stealing packages and breaking and entering for most people. I know people who consider themselves law abiding citizens who will pilfer anything they see lying around without an obvious person attached to it, and help themselves to any amount of office supplies, or not go back and pay for something that was on the bottom rack of their shopping cart that didn't get rung up, or not say anything when they are undercharged on a bill, and think nothing of any of it. But it's all still stealing.

Porch pirates think what they are doing is a victimless crime, because the person never gets the package, they report it to their credit card company, Amazon or UPS lose money but they are huge multibillion dollar faceless conglomerates of unbridled capitalism so, so what? There is a leap between this and actually entering a property or physically stealing from a person, in their minds.

I know several people who live part of the year in various South American or Central American countries, and one of them said "Oh it's not so bad but we do live in a gated walled household with razor wire on the top. And you do have to be careful about going out alone." Kidnapping there can be a matter of a few thousand dollars, is what he said, they just grab you and make some phone calls or whatever and try to extort a couple thousand dollars.

That's not how it worked in America in modern times, and I am not sure it ever would.

Blaming foreigners, minorities and poor people for all of the social ills is a national pastime.

And part of the reason that kidnapping occurs in other countries is because of their laws.

I watched a thing about an American woman in Peru, who was drugged, rolled up in an old carpet and covered with some dirt and left to die who managed to escape because the carpet was so rotten that by some miracle she was able to split it. The police treated it as if it was some sort of dispute between two foreigners at first, and refused to even get involved, and when she was able to finally convince the authorities that he attempted to murder her, they were more or less of the attitude that since she was able to get herself to the police station, she must be fine, why was she making such a big deal out of it, she was alive. And when it went to court he was convicted of some form of attempted murder that was on the books that indicated that he didn't try to murder her very hard, he wasn't thorough about it. If she had been severely injured the charge may have been more. Part of their system is that they don't believe punishment changes bad behavior. Anyway the guy got away and he is probably scamming people and killing people in some other country.

Does punishment (other than capital punishment) actually stop bad behavior?

We in the U.S. have tons of people imprisoned. Many return to prison again and again.Some of the more astute criminals run their businesses from inside the prison.

Anyway the guy got away and he is probably scamming people and killing people in some other country.

Maybe ours.

Capital punishment and making kidnapping subject to Federal law, if I am understanding it correctly is what drastically reduced kidnapping in America. Does the death penalty actually stop people from doing things, probably, to some extent. But I think there is a disconnect between "death row" and actual death. Most prisoners sit on death row for more than a decade and some have been on death row for more than twenty years. So it becomes a bit abstract. If they were walking out of the courtroom into a prison and executed by the end of the week, like happened in the 19th c., things might be a little bit different. I am not saying that is good or bad, just that it is.

Actually at the time of the program I watched the guy who did that had not been spotted in the US after, only certain countries in South America or Europe, and it's not clear that he has murdered anyone else, although he has scammed a lot of money from people. The reason he attempted to kill this woman is that she was never taken in by him like the rest of the people in her circle.

Look at what has happened in Northern California to see the relationship between punishment and crime, it is unmistakable. Laws and their enforcement matter. Laws do not eliminate crime, unless they are draconian, but they absolutely influence how much crime you have.

My friends brother was murderd in Mexico. went there to look into retirement, met some people who said they’d show him around but instead robbed and murdered him. Body was found on a beach.

I know the thought of prison and death sentence has stopped me from doing in a few people.

Amazing how many of us get through the day witout any threats and come home to an intact house. 😉

abstract

I agree that a long disconnect between crime and punishment does make the concept more abstract and perhaps less effective. The immediate capital punishment doled out by the vigilantes in Haiti, by burning the accused alive with gasoline, has significantly and quickly reduced crime. ( I am not advocating this method.)

My friends brother was murderd in Mexico. went there to look into retirement, met some people who said they’d show him around but instead robbed and murdered him. Body was found on a beach.

OMG how horrible.

I know the thought of prison and death sentence has stopped me from doing in a few people.

HA!

My friends brother was murderd in Mexico. went there to look into retirement, met some people who said they’d show him around but instead robbed and murdered him. Body was found on a beach.

That is horrible. This probably happens more than we know, and like someone stated above (Pal, I believe) some countries don't think certain crimes are so bad. Especially when evidence is not recovered. Police departments are not as well trained and do not have access to the latest bells and whistles. I will be nice and not say some are paid to look the other way. Oops.

Remember Natalee Holloway in Aruba? Last seen with Joran van der Sloot, but body was not recovered. So he goes free only to bludgeon to death another young female in Peru - 5 years to the day of Natalee's disappearnce. He is being extradited to the U.S. this week for extortion and wire fraud charges against her Holloway's mother.

Scum.

Since home burglaries are down the last 10 or so years, blaming undocumented people shouldn’t be a thing. Should it?

There shouldn't be so much hate in this country, but sadly there is.

I would imagine that the highly coordinated break-ins and jewelry thefts need to be perpetrated by someone who has easy entry and exit from this country with the proper passports and Visas and such, appearing as affluent business travelers who would own, or probably do own the same type of stuff they are stealing. I don't think this level of theft is going to be carried out by people who have to rely on sneaking in.

There were two posts just this morning on local FB page asking if they could borrow (whatever) for theircweek at the beach, including dates. C’mon,! They may as well leave a key in the door.

Our neighborhood has relatively minor issues - occaisonally someone's car will be entered and contents taken. These cars are typically left unlocked in driveways which in our neighborhood are in the back along shared alleys. Most troubling is how many times someone has left their firearm in the unlocked vehicle. Honestly.

@Allison0704 - I was so shocked to hear about that particular jewelry store. I guess I didn't think that location would be an easy or prime target. I was relieved to hear they made arrests in the case.

Here's where social media is a problem. People used to ask people they knew, and in-person. Now people trumpet their intentions publicly for wide dissemination.

Another problem with social media, I think, is that you can just have an expectation that someone you do not know is going to lend you something, mostly because you don't feel like buying it yourself.

I know I have told this story before, but the last time we attempted a sidewalk sale, most of the people were from the local "Buy Nothing" group, where an announcement was placed by one of my former neighbors.

A woman asked about a MCM slat table (which I ended up selling later for 10X what I was asking for it that day, on Chairish).

"Well, couldja just give it to me? I mean you are tryin to get rid of it, right? But actually what I need is a dining room table. but only to borrow, you gotta dining room table I could borrow for when I got company coming and I would just bring it back after?"

Then there was the guy who had a Queen mattress that he picked up, In a folding baby stroller, half dragging it on the ground and he was taking it home.

Sometimes i cant believebthe junk people list on Buy Nothing. Today someone had an empty box and a short strip of air pockets.

There have been a series of break ins around us as soon as school was out the end of May. They doors at the schools weren't even locked yet, and some of these "kids" are up to no good already.

What is insane to me, is nearly everyone has cameras!

Some cameras are better than others, but there are still decent photos of them.

The perps are breaking into vehicles, either by smashing in the windows or just opening the unlocked doors, ransacking, taking whatever they can get their hands on and sell for a few bucks.

Then there are the meth heads that are also going around doing the same thing. We had one neighborhood where they went to the front door of an elderly couple, got them to go outside while someone else went in the back and then robbed them blind.

We live someone rural, but even still, when I am home, the doors are always locked. When I am in the yard gardening, the doors are locked, and the garage door is down unless I am working in direct view of it. I consider myself cautiously aware. My husband thinks I'm paranoid. Maybe so, but I'd rather be paranoid than robbed or attacked.

With people's Nests and other front door cameras, you can often get multiple views of someone stealing packages on your block, sometimes being able to track them even more than that, but I feel like the pictures are often such that unless you have already seen the person around or someone actually knows the person they pictures are not really distinct enough for identification by themselves. One thing that I can say, is that I have never seen one of these local photos posted of someone stealing things that looked like someone who came in through the border with Mexico, documented or undocumented.