Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

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

Original poster

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:
Sodapop1 · 15/12/2023 20:58

Not sure what industry your DH is in OP but you say he’s quite high profile and works away a lot, does he post about these trips on public sites like LinkedIn? You might need to be more wary of that.

BeckhamSeven · 15/12/2023 21:07

I haven't read all replies so this might have already been said, but the netatmo cameras are great. They're easy to wire in and you don't pay a subscription etc. They record when there's movement, so animals, people, cars etc and you can rewind back a few days too, and save to your camera role anything you want to keep. They're also fairly discrete - I don't think you'd realise it was a CCTV camera necessarily.

I will add, before we got them we had a sign on our door saying "CCTV in operation" even though we didn't. We had a problem with people cold calling and dodgy scammy type people which stopped once that sign went up!!

Could the people who lived in the house before have a son/daughter that they're estranged from? One of my friends had a problem a few years ago where the estranged adult son of the former tenants would get drunk over Christmas and try and get in the house!

It's weird that they'd take the keys for the cars, yet not take the cars.

dawngreen · 15/12/2023 21:13

I cannot understand how they got past the dog. Every one of our dogs would alert us, and threaten any stranger sneaking about in our house. A old neighbour on our street, found out that a homeless guy was sleeping in her old garage at the end of her garden.

Parentofeanda · 15/12/2023 21:21

id get those lights that come on when theres movement as well

RampantIvy · 15/12/2023 21:24

Another recommendation to get some curtains up in your kitchen diner.

everyonesgreen · 15/12/2023 21:27

@piscofrisco
Here is my suggestion:
Keys left close to front door, visible through the letterbox or through a window.
Thief uses a telescopic pole - similar to a long car aerial - to snag your keys and remove them through the letterbox.
The keys are copied (all of them) and are returned - the fb poster could be a do-gooder who is used as certain to post, or assisting the criminal. [This is a variation on an old 'lost wallet' scam in which a pickpocket steals a wallet, contacts the owner and offers to return the wallet later in the day. Owner of wallet is relieved to have their faith in human nature restored, so doesn't cancel the cards, giving the pickpocket a window of a couple of hours to spend, spend, spend.]
With a working set of keys, the thief gains access and checks for signs of security and vulnerability, possibly taking small things that might be used to steal ID. [Any silly things that you haven't thrown out but can't remember where you left them? Any food that has gone missing?]
If you've changed locks and upset someone's patient plans, they may be trying to find out if you're out so that they can enter in a cruder way.

As PP have said, if your husband posts on social media about extensive travelling, that makes the house more vulnerable.

Rare but not unheard of
https://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/crime/man-broke-into-former-home-to-steal-food-before-smashing-door-2482358

https://jonathanturley.org/2008/12/29/pennsylvania-family-finds-man-living-in-their-attic/

Pennsylvania Family Finds Man Living in Their Attic

Police in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania have a unique case of criminal trespass. Stanley Carter, 21, was arrested after leaving in the attic of the Ferrance family — helping himself to their foo…

https://jonathanturley.org/2008/12/29/pennsylvania-family-finds-man-living-in-their-attic

Weefreetiffany · 15/12/2023 21:29

Buttercup176 · 15/12/2023 20:55

My money is on the neighbour so he can sell you an expensive security system!

Hah that was my first though on reading the neighbour sells them too!

Dymaxion · 15/12/2023 21:35

Dh has been to see our neighbour who had some sort of security company. He's sending a man round on Monday to price up cameras , an alarm and a gate

Gosh ! how convenient Hmm

BalloonSlayer · 15/12/2023 21:36

I think that after the fire when you clearly were not living there someone would come in, perhaps to use your electricity, or to sleep, and they are still trying to do that.

Xx1000xX · 15/12/2023 21:42

Buttercup176 · 15/12/2023 20:55

My money is on the neighbour so he can sell you an expensive security system!

Yep. Seems the mystery is solved.

CipherEcho · 15/12/2023 21:43

@piscofrisco
get a better cctv system that covers all angles of the outside

SkySecret · 15/12/2023 21:48

Another vote for more cameras. They need to cover your whole property else pointless. The hard wired ones are much better as well, obviously they don’t need charging but they also capture more because they’re always recording on a loop, so unlike the battery ones which need to trigger then turn on then start recording, the hard wired one will already have stored the several seconds prior and capture the full trigger event.

itsmyp4rty · 15/12/2023 21:48

This doesn't make sense to me. If they stole the keys to be able to get in then why would they still be trying to get in now they know the locks have been changed? Why aren't they making sure that you're out before they try to get in and rob you? What would be the point of them banging on the window and disappearing or rattling the door?

AngryBird6122 · 15/12/2023 21:56

@piscofrisco can anyone come and stay with you while DH goes away? I fear you won't be able to sleep at night, even if nothing happens!

babyproblems · 15/12/2023 22:05

I would deffo be putting lots of cameras and motion detector lights up aswell and reducing time one person is home alone. How awful for you I hope it stops soon!!!! X

Vet73 · 15/12/2023 22:06

I’d be too scared to stay

TheSpruce · 15/12/2023 22:15

Admittedly haven't read the whole thing but frankly if no one is on the cameras then obviously there is no one there...

StubbleTurnips · 15/12/2023 22:17

We had similar issues of someone trying door handles to the house at all hours day / evening (usually when we weren’t in).
We put cameras up and it was an older man, very doddery, who we didn’t recognise but someone on the street said he had lived in one of the houses years before us (but not the one we were in). My DH used to work away a lot - we put cameras up and I always locked the door behind me. Scared me senseless, we moved.

Original poster
piscofrisco · 15/12/2023 22:18

The dogs are a pair of very silly Jack Russell crosses. They bark. Indiscriminately. But are neither use nor ornament at defence of any kind.

Pp who said about getting several quotes-yes you are right. This seems like it may be an expensive job.

I don't think there is anyone that can come and stay whilst dh is away. It's too long a time. But I might go away myself for a bit of it at least.

OP posts:
Original poster
piscofrisco · 15/12/2023 22:20

@itsmyp4rty exactly. None of it makes any sense. Which is why it's very unnerving!

Pp who said About dh's LinkedIn. Very good point. The world and his wife (in that industry and whoever else follows him) know exactly where he is and he needs to cut it out

OP posts:
Internationalpony · 15/12/2023 22:21

OP this sounds absolutely terrifying! I’m so sorry to hear you’re going through this. Have you thought about window alarms - they sense movement and set off an alarm if someone comes close to your windows. You could also consider carrying a personal alarm with you when you’re home alone in the house - you just press it and it sounds an alarm but could deter intruders if you hear someone.

Hallmark1234 · 15/12/2023 22:23

As someone else said upthread, it's possible they hooked your keys from the hall table via the letterbox. Is it possible someone could see you were in the garden?

Keep keys away from the front door, maybe even on your person until you find out more!

Imagwine · 15/12/2023 22:33

How scary!

DoubleTime · 15/12/2023 22:39

Oh OP this sounds v frightening. Returning, to the missing keys in the first instance - was the door locked, how could someone have picked these up ? Did anyone else have access to your house ?

LimeJellyforBrains · 15/12/2023 22:41

Security alarm neighbour isn't the same as dodgy electrics fire-causing neighbour I hope? Confused

Swipe left for the next trending thread