Facebook and Twitter posts tipped thieves to empty homes
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LAKE OSWEGO, Ore. – A pile of loot discovered from a string of burglaries should serve as a big warning - be careful what you put on Facebook and Twitter because thieves are paying attention.
Police say burglars who hit homes in Lake Oswego, Beaverton and other areas of Washington County found their victims on social media by watching for folks stating that they would be out of town or keeping an eye out for people posting pictures while on vacation.
Then they made their move - hitting homes when they knew no one would be there. Police say the thieves would cut the power to disarm any alarm systems and then ransack the place.
Police recently discovered several caches of stolen items while serving a search warrant in Rhododendron, Ore. Stolen items were found in storage units and a motel in Rhododendron and hundreds of other items were found at a second-hand dealer in the Woodburn area.
The items were put on display in Lake Oswego on Monday to give theft victims a chance to find and reclaim their stuff.
None of it was worth very much, police said, but there were plenty of keepsakes that police would like to get back to their original owners. Among the items were delicate pieces of china, old newspapers from World War II and plenty of family heirlooms.
If you think any of the items might belong to you, you should call the Lake Oswego Police Department at (503) 635-0250 and set up an appointment to look at them.
Meanwhile, police did make an arrest - Thomas Phelps (pictured at right) was taken into custody in connection with the crimes. Police believe he did have at least one accomplice but no other arrests have been made at this point.
Also, many cellphone cameras will embed your location into the photo. Post to a public forum and people can search out vacationers.
Well, if you use the social networks, and want to post stuff about your vacation, at least wait til you get HOME..! Â (Then you can tell everybody how fabulous it was..!) Â :-)
Just yesterday I had to tell my Mom to delete a post about being gone on a particular day with a friend - They said when they would be leaving - - - and the exact dates. Â Sometimes technology is dangerous in the wrong hands. Â Those who don't understand what they are doing! Â
Hey, here's a thought. How about going online with these social networks and letting everyone know you won't be home. How dumb can you be? Perhaps law enforcement should set up these encounters and catch the thieves? Or would that be entrapment? Once caught, they could always cry out loud "we were entrapped" into breaking in! LOL
The people who got stuff stolen obviously didn't have their Facebook and Twitter accounts set up securely. If you set it up right, the only people that can see it are the ones you allow to. I know of many people who in which their Facebook account isn't secure and anyone can look at it. It's not that difficult to do. Facebook is only as safe or as dangerous as one let's it be. Those that aren't smart enough to set their security settings properly have no one to blame but themselves.
@scoreboard ....SECURELY.........????. GOOD ONE , ! The Internet is the new frontier. For good and evil !
 @Rob C 503  @scoreboard I have yet to have a problem. I take precautions. I change my password regularly, plus I don't post anything that I don't want people to know about. I've been on Facebook for over 5 years.
And no one called you an idiot.
Most people don't have that skill. And they're vulnerable. Just thinking about a lot of people. Help them!
@scoreboard ....good for you.
 @Rob C 503  @scoreboard You just keep thinking that.....
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You're acting like I'm an idiot and know nothing about online security. I used to do that for a living. I've probably forgotten more than you will ever know.
@scoreboard .....congratulations. You think you are a Success That's self absorption and self centeredness. And you're playing with fire and don't know it !
If people are dumb enough to brag about everything they do on social websites, they shouldn't complain when they are robbed. Â No one really cares what you are doing from one minute to the next. Â No one except thieves.
 @Shadow NO ONE deserved to be robbed. NO ONE. Way tto go sticking up for the thieves...are you related?
It's remarkable in this day and age that people have public-facing Facebook profiles. Â The security settings are so easy to set. Â
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It's know different then these people being interviewed at the airport when there flights are delayed/canceled saying they are going to such and such a place. They tell everyone that they wont be home, all for 1 minute of fame on tv. In todays age when the media posts their name when they are interviewing them, crooks use google to find there house.
did he "Like" the post about leaving town?
Sell all of the thieves' possessions, including their clothes, then release them about ten miles from home with no money nor clothes on. Change the locks on their doors while they are gone.
I've posted it before....... Social media is dangerous !! Anonymity can be a good thing. Put aside your self importance and self absorption if you must participate in this nonsense.
@Rob C 503 Â "Put aside your self importance and self absorption if you must participate in this nonsense."
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Well said. Social media is really anti-social media. It is not about communicating or building relationships. It is about me, my, and what I am doing. I think most people will figure it out eventually but it will first require a bit of introspection and many really will not care for what they see. Meanwhile the morons will continue to invite the less honest among us into their homes, businesses, cars, etc.
@I812 @Rob C 503 I have a Facebook account and I'm on it all the time. Only post stuff that you truly want people to know about. Also, make sure you have your security settings set correctly. Facebook is only as safe or dangerous as one allows it to be.
@scoreboard .......keep telling yourself that and you will be in the false land of security. Technology is designed by humans, it has designs and faults. Stay out of it.
@I812 ....and that's exactly what's happening. You've figured it out. Lots of folks haven't.....and won't !
 @Rob C 503 Social media is not dangerous.  Idiots that don't think about what they post are IDIOTS.  Let's put the blame where it lies.
@Ocean Beautiful .....keep telling yourself that. The mechanism can do things you can't, and aren't, even imagining.
The burglars are almost like magpies or something. So very eclectic.Â
 @washcomom They get open invitations.  There will always be criminals.  It's up to us to not let them get the best of us by being stupid about what we post.
Oh nice, all those guitars are mine, I swear!
In other curious criminal news: today is the seventh anniversary of the day that "Dead-Eye" Dick Cheney shot a man whom he apparently mistook for a Pheasant. To this day Dead-Eye a.k.a. Franken-Dick remains alive only because the beating heart of a dead man pounds in his chest.Â
 @Icarus Medical technology is wonderful isn't it? I'm sure Mr. Cheney is grateful for this man's gift of life. The pheasant thing? Meh, stuff happens, get over it.
"Â Investigators said in many of the burglaries, the suspects would remove power meters from homes in order to disable alarm systems."
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This is why I have a 12 hour battery backup on my alarm system that is solar charged if the power goes out.
 @RalphCramden My folks' backup paid for itself out in Corbett. We came home from vacation and there were police in the driveway, so we missed the burglar by about an hour.
 @PlayanekesÂ
All I did was change out the battery with two large 6 volt golf cart batteries and hooked up a solar panel to it with a change controller. It will last for over 24 hours if there is no movement detected. If there is movement it will last about 12 hours. The solar panel is large enough to completely charge the whole system in less than 4 hours.
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Did the bad guys get in? Did they get caught?
Recovering property identified as stolen is the prime reason victims should itemize and identify the property they have at home. Set a monetary threshold on what you own and would consider a great loss, either in value or sentimentality, then make a record somewhere of serial numbers and photographs of the items as proof once they are recovered. Whatever is identified as stolen can then be returned, if not to you, then the insurance company if you were paid for your losses. Provide law enforcement with the list of identifiable property. Serial numbers and owner applied number numbers are a tremendous help in getting your property eventually recovered. Generic discriptions of property, such as "1 - generator" are useless in ever getting your property back! When making your theft report to law enforcement, let them know you will be providing an itemized list of identifiable stolen property to them for their report, putting the case number on your listing and sending it in as soon as possible.
 @jpk and for those renters out there: renters insurance can cost as little as $12/mo in case you are robbed, your apt. bldg burns down, etc. etc. It is soooo worth it to get a little policy going.
 @jpk Just make sure you have a print-out of the list: "Officer, I DID have a list... but it was on my computer".
 @negativerep  @jpk flash drive copy
 @negativerep  @jpk Or have it backed up on a service like dropbox.  That way even if your computer is gone, you can get your files from any other computer and it updates every time you add something.  Also, that print-out doesn't do much good in a file if there's a house fire.  Sure, you can put a copy in a safety deposit box, but how many people actually do that?  Just a thought.
 @negativerep  @Emi-Lynn Better yet, put it anywhere but on the internet.  I back mine up and take it to 3 outside locations where only I know where it is and no one can hack into it.  Do you people really trust online websites?  I surely don't.  Think about it.  It's not safe.  Only safe thing is keeping it OFFLINE.
 @jpk Absolutely.  My son is a musician and when he was living at home we had to have a rider on our insurance for his instruments (a $30,000 tuba was one of them)  Now he's a musician for the Army which makes my life cheaper..
@Emi-Lynn The insurance company adjustor may not agree with your valuation fo whatever was taken. Just another reason to keep a record of what, when, where you bought it, and how much you paid for it. Sentimental value doesn't count for much with them. If it's an expensive collectible, there are other avenues for obtaining insurance for something that is truly valuable and appraised as such. Photos of the item, as well as any visible defects on the item always helps!  Â
 @jpk Actually, the insurance company might not like having proof of what they have to pay out.  All the more reason to get it done.
My final advice is to please do keep a list of valuables. There were several search warrants I executed looking for stolen property. If the property cannot be identified as stolen, it remains at the search site. Many times I would know it didn't belong to the person who had it, but since it couldn't be identified as stolen and belonging to a particular victim, it had to be left! Â
Good thinking, folks. Just don't put it off; do it for peace of mind! Even your insurance company will appreciate knowing what it is they may pay for!
 @Emi-Lynn Good call!  Google Docs would be a great way to do it.
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@negativerep A very good point!
OOH "sorting" for a second there I thougt it said snorting