Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Someone is trying to get in to our house

263 replies

piscofrisco · 15/12/2023 13:36

....it started in summer. I came in through the door, shut it behind me and put my keys down on the side. Went to go out later and the keys were gone. The car was still there on the drive. Two days later Iwa idly scrolling through Facebook and saw them on our local towns lost and found type forum. They had been found on a bus in an area of town that I have never been to.
We had a lot of people doing work on our house last year after a huge house fire. Any number of them could have copied the key.
We changed the locks and although very freaked out, just kind of carried on as usual.
A few months later dh was away with three of our kids. I was at home with dd1. We distinctly heard someone try they handles on all three our our exterior doors. The dogs were going off it. We were terrified. We called dh who thought we were winding him up. We told the police who said there was nothing we could do bar put a camera up. We duly installed a ring doorbell.
A few months passed with no incident until this past few weeks. Dh and I both laid up with Covid. In the lounge with the blinds shut. Someone aggressively knocked on the window right behind us. When we looked there was no one there and no one showed up on the ring camera (which shows the whole front driveway).
And now today. I'm
Wfh and I could hear someone rattling the side door handle. Dogs going mad. I thought it was dh back early and not taken his key. Went to look-no one there. Dh is at work still.
Ring camera is charging up so not on to check.
I am now pretty nervy when in the house on my own. I'm going to work from Starbucks this afternoon.
We have a sort of granny flat thing in the back garden which I daren't look in.
The police basically said just keep your doors locked.
What else can we do?

OP posts:
Pootles34 · 15/12/2023 13:53

Sorry to hear about this OP, sounds a nightmare. I would look at security lights as a first step, and it's great that you have dogs.

It sounds really odd - surely if they want to get in, they would have realised the locks are changed (if they did copy the key). Could it just be neighbourhood kids dicking around? My IL's had lots of problems with this, they liked their house because they knew it wound the dogs up...

piscofrisco · 15/12/2023 13:59

We have lights to the side and will look at getting some at the front.
We did think kids maybe. But the times don't lend itself to that-we've had 11pm, 6 at night, today was midday ish. The keys taken were 10 in the morning.

OP posts:
GerriKellman · 15/12/2023 14:00

This sounds really scary. There are Ring doorbell camera wifi jammers available which might also explain why no footage was captured.

MrsHobbit · 15/12/2023 14:04

Ghost burglar?

WhatsInStoreFor2024 · 15/12/2023 14:07

Was person who took the keys already I. Your house?

Check the annexe....and the loft!

ActDottie · 15/12/2023 14:13

Omg that is scary!

Have you changed the locks? First thing I’d do is change all the locks so when you are in the house you know no one can get in without a key.

Can you place more cameras to capture all angles of the house? I know it’s costly but for your own sanity and peace it may be best.

EmmaEmerald · 15/12/2023 14:14

GerriKellman · 15/12/2023 14:00

This sounds really scary. There are Ring doorbell camera wifi jammers available which might also explain why no footage was captured.

Oh, that explains a lot!

OP the keys that were taken...you've changed the locks after that, right?

Is there a cleaner or anyone else both the new one?

Also, when there's more of you around, you must check that garden outhouse.

in my area is local homeless sleeping in porches etc. so you might find evidence of that in the garden thingy.

As someone is knocking when you're home, could it be someone who is hoping for food?

EmmaEmerald · 15/12/2023 14:16

Oh and do you have a burglar alarm?

Chalkdowns · 15/12/2023 14:25

Have you changed the locks? That’s the obvious thing to do.

gravel around the house, lights, cameras. Dogs! You’ve got a lot covered already. Play the radio all the time and have lights turning on and off on timers.

Banjaxx · 15/12/2023 14:29

How did the fire start at your house op? 👀

Queucumber · 15/12/2023 14:29

I’d get some ‘CCTV you are being recorded’ and ‘beware: dogs running loose’ type signs.

FairFuming · 15/12/2023 14:30

Could you get a few other cameras to pop around your house?

WenttheDayWell · 15/12/2023 14:30

Do you live rurally at all? Massive targets currently for burglaries.

piscofrisco · 15/12/2023 14:33

We changed the locks after the keys were taken. I think someone entered the house to take them yes as I always shut the door behind me due to dogs.
No cleaner or anyone else with access/a key.

I've checked the attic and the side crawl spaces and I do that every few days now as it's made me so paranoid :(.

I'm going to get dh to check the granny flat. It's locked. But we didn't get he locks changed on that when the main house locks were changed as it was so expensive. Now I wish we had so that will be next.

I didn't know that you could jam
The ring door bell camera. That's made me feel even worse!

OP posts:
piscofrisco · 15/12/2023 14:34

Not rural. On a long street with houses on one side and flats and houses on the other, at the edge of a town.

OP posts:
piscofrisco · 15/12/2023 14:34

The dogs are barky. But tiny. And they would be useless vs an intruder/stalkie lunatic!

OP posts:
milveycrohn · 15/12/2023 14:34

Apart from all the suggestions above, the only extra one I can think of, is having lights that come on and off on a timer.
We have a special light, with colours, that is supposed to resemble the reflection of a TV playing. If using a timer, set it to odd minutes (ie; not 9.00 pm exactly, but 8.47, etc), and have different times for each day.
Have automatic lights front and back of your house, that turn on when someone approaches.
Ring doorbells are obvious cameras, but maybe set a couple of others, one at the side, and/or back of the house.

piscofrisco · 15/12/2023 14:37

Yep more cameras will be on the list for this weekend. Currentlynin Starbucks with laptop having a consolatory fancy coffee until dh and DD's come home.

OP posts:
Queucumber · 15/12/2023 14:37

It’s the noise your dogs make that’s important.

YesThatsATurdOnTheRug · 15/12/2023 14:38

Jesus why are people so weird?! Sorry that's happening to you OP.

Nicesalad · 15/12/2023 14:39

Get a wired in camera instead ( not a wifi one), better security lights and a perimeter alarm

Pigeonqueen · 15/12/2023 14:43

Have you asked your neighbours etc on both sides if they have any cctv / ring footage of the times you’ve heard people rattling the doors? We live rurally and we often have people posting on the local community page asking for footage for these kinds of reasons and posting the images there asking for help in identifying people - might be an idea.

BubbleBubbleBubbleBubblePop · 15/12/2023 14:46

The house fire, how did that happen? Did someone set it alight?

Heyhoherewegoagain · 15/12/2023 14:50

That must be so unnerving!

I think I’d be looking at a hard wired CCTV system that’s more substantial than the Ring ones, if you can afford it.

piscofrisco · 15/12/2023 14:57

House fire was neighbours dodgy electric wiring in his garage which is adjacent to our bin store. His garage went up, then our bin store, then our house. Or that's what they think happened. This is making me not so sure.

DH is relatively high profile in his industry. I've joked before with him that maybe he has a stalker. Now it doesn't feel so amusing :( . I know how far fetched that is but I'm genuinely so upset. I feel like I can't go home. He is away a lot for work and I don't want to be there on my own at all at the minute.

OP posts: