# Making it more difficult for thieves to take your property **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 10, 2010, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-it-more-difficult-for-thieves-to-take-your-property/538945 "2010-05-10T18:35:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Darth\_Sensitive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/58956e/32.png) [@Darth\_Sensitive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Sensitive)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-it-more-difficult-for-thieves-to-take-your-property/538945/21 "2010-05-11T05:27:40Z")
The 9 digit zip is pretty localized. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-it-more-difficult-for-thieves-to-take-your-property/538945/22 "2010-05-11T05:29:43Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > That method may only work in the UK, where postcodes identify your house to a reasonably high degree of precision. I don’t know how many households would be included in a typical US postcode - a few thousand? Tens of thousands?\ Actually, it sounds like [US postal codes are very precise](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postal_code) - > [@](#): > > USA > Other countries allow equally precise coding. For example, in the United States, the delivery point is typically derived from the last two digits of the house number and thus (at least theoretically) allows an unambiguous identification of every address in the country. Canadian postal codes are not quite as precise; they will get you to a handful of houses, I believe. ---
**Author:** ![MostlyClueless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@MostlyClueless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MostlyClueless)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-it-more-difficult-for-thieves-to-take-your-property/538945/23 "2010-05-11T06:15:23Z")
Sign in the front yard: “Our Rottweilers have AIDS” ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-it-more-difficult-for-thieves-to-take-your-property/538945/24 "2010-05-11T06:27:49Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Actually, it sounds like [US postal codes are very precise](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postal_code) Hmmm … I’d never heard of Zip+4 before. Do people actually use it much? ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-it-more-difficult-for-thieves-to-take-your-property/538945/25 "2010-05-11T10:15:40Z")
We worked on making it hard to get in, but just as hard to get out. All doors had strong deadbolts and hinge pins, all windows had screwdown locks, no keys were left in the house. When someone did break in (a really small person via the toilet louvre window), they could not just open the door to his mates, they forced a window lock and struggled in. They had to pile stuff up downstairs, then kick out the french doors waking the neighbours, grab what they could and run. Even the appliances (TV, VCR) had no remotes because we always hide them, too. We fixed the window locks, added bars to the louvre and installed an alarm - wasn’t going to happen again. Si ---
**Author:** ![MsChilePepper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MsChilePepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsChilePepper)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-it-more-difficult-for-thieves-to-take-your-property/538945/26 "2010-05-11T11:05:40Z")
I always use Zip+4. Helps the mail carriers screw up less, and I’m all for that. A former co-worker drive a very nice late 80s Cadillac, and had the hood ornament stolen twice. It was the kind that was mounted in a little recessed frame, with some sort of tension cable holding it in, and if you pushed on it or bumped into something, it would just bend to one side and then pop right back into place. They were very expensive to replace, so her husband was adamant he would not be paying to replace it a third time. He worked for Boeing, so he had access to some sort of heavy-duty steel cabling. He fastened one end to the hood ornament and gave it the original snap-back tension thing, then he fastened the other end of the cable to the frame of the car. Somehow he rigged the ornament to the car’s horn, too, so if you pushed on it, the horn would blow. GENIUS! They never lost another hood ornament. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-it-more-difficult-for-thieves-to-take-your-property/538945/27 "2010-05-11T12:46:56Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > Hmmm … I’d never heard of Zip+4 before. Do people actually use it much? Businesses certainly do. All monthly bills, most junk mail, that sort of thing. Volume mailers don’t get as big a discount on postage unless they do. Personal anecdote tending towards data … In the 23 years since Zip+4 was introduced, I don’t think I’ve ever received a piece of mail from a private individual which had my full 9-digit zip code. No Christmas cards, wedding invites, or that sort of thing. I know I’ve never sent one with 9-digit zip to a private individual. Prior to the advent of the internet it would have been practically too difficult to look one up, so the only way you’d know somebody’s Zip+4 would be if they supplied it on their return address. Which most people don’t, even today. I also know that I don’t know my own 9-digit for sure, although I’d probably recognize it if you gave me 3 possiblities to pick from. ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-it-more-difficult-for-thieves-to-take-your-property/538945/28 "2010-05-11T13:10:04Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > This has got to be one of the funniest things I have ever read on the Dope. I’m glad I’m not alone. I had this mental image of someone walking around in a Speedo with a GPS stuck to the front, then hanging a baseball cap on it just for good measure. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-it-more-difficult-for-thieves-to-take-your-property/538945/29 "2010-05-11T13:14:51Z")
I used to lock my lawnmower, air compressor, snow blower and something else, can’t recall, by a cable to the shed, with a padlock on the shed. Hide the GPS, only take it out when I needed it, a lock cover plate on the radio, not having many nice things, not displaying nice things, hiding the laptop when I went out. make it appear like I had a security system. I was considering installing a gate at the driveway. I have come to the conclusion and truly believe that God never intended to live that way, and if we trust in Him He will protect us and things He wants us to have. So now I leave it up to God, and just live life freely, so far no thief has gotten past one of His angels. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-it-more-difficult-for-thieves-to-take-your-property/538945/30 "2010-05-11T13:17:43Z")
I think you can sefely remove “base” from the name now… \*I had this mental image of someone walking around in a Speedo with a GPS stuck to the front, then hanging a ball cap on it just for good measure. \* ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-it-more-difficult-for-thieves-to-take-your-property/538945/31 "2010-05-11T14:52:51Z")
[QUOTE=md2000] I remember the signs in the car windows “No Radio” [/QUOTE] Then you come back to find a smashed window and a note saying “Just checking!” ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-it-more-difficult-for-thieves-to-take-your-property/538945/32 "2010-05-11T15:04:45Z")
> [@Perciful](#): > > What do they do to thieves in Dubai if they catch them stealing? I heard they cut your finger or hand off. Is that true? Not in the UAE they don’t (though they do in extreme cases in Saudi Arabia). The lack of theft is just a cultural thing… not that it doesn’t happen, but throughout the region it is common for shopkeepers to leave their shops unattended for 15 minutes while they leave to pray. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-it-more-difficult-for-thieves-to-take-your-property/538945/33 "2010-05-11T15:13:21Z")
Missed the edit window: If you walk along the Creek waterfront in Dubai at 1am you’ll see stacks of TVs, vacuum cleaners, lumber, tires and such left unguarded on the street. They are simply waiting to be loaded onto dhows (traditional boats) to be shipped around the Gulf/Pakistan/India etc. Why break into someone’s home when you can just grab a TV off the street? I’ve never heard of anything being stolen from the waterfront either. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-it-more-difficult-for-thieves-to-take-your-property/538945/34 "2010-05-11T15:14:58Z")
> [@MostlyClueless](#): > > Sign in the front yard: > > “Our Rottweilers have AIDS” My sign says “Our corgis have the sniffles.” Gee, I hope it works. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-it-more-difficult-for-thieves-to-take-your-property/538945/35 "2010-05-11T15:19:20Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > \ > > I have come to the conclusion and truly believe that God never intended to live that way, and if we trust in Him He will protect us and things He wants us to have. So now I leave it up to God, and just live life freely, so far no thief has gotten past one of His angels. Hmm, maybe I’d feel a little better if I believe that God intends for the assholes who stole my spendy little solar lights to have rapid-onset, debilitating, explosive diarrhea. Yeah, that _does_ help a bit. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-it-more-difficult-for-thieves-to-take-your-property/538945/36 "2010-05-11T15:21:24Z")
[Pacsafe](http://www.pacsafe.com/www/index.php) makes all sorts of stuff - backpacks, messenger bags, luggage … and a cable mesh to wrap your own luggage with to keep it safe from thieves. I am considering the best way to keep my wheelchair bag safe while traveling - I didn’t worry about pickpockets when I was able to walk as I took precautions, but you cant feel someone slitting a chair bag quite the same as if you were carrying a purse. :rolleyes: Not sure if I will get the external mesh, or simply replace the bag with something like the duffle … ---
**Author:** ![emmaliminal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emmaliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emmaliminal)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-it-more-difficult-for-thieves-to-take-your-property/538945/37 "2010-05-11T15:35:09Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > [Pacsafe](http://www.pacsafe.com/www/index.php) makes all sorts of stuff - backpacks, messenger bags, luggage .. and a cable mesh to wrap your own luggage with to keep it safe from thieves. > > I am considering the best way to keep my wheelchair bag safe while traveling - I didn’t worry about pickpockets when I was able to walk as I took precautions, but you cant feel someone slitting a chair bag quite the same as if you were carrying a purse. :rolleyes: Not sure if I will get the external mesh, or simply replace the bag with something like the duffle … How big is your wheelchair bag? I highly recommend the Pacsafe “[Citysafe](http://www.pacsafe.com/www/index.php?_room=3&_action=detail&id=25)” purse for anyone (who carries a purse) worried about purse-snatching type theft. It’s a well-organized bag, lightweight, engineered to be comfortable to carry and all that, and the zipper-lock doohickey is easy to use when you want it, easy to ignore when you don’t, and not at all visible – no indicator that you’re _worried_ about theft, unlike the external mesh setup. I bought it for a long trip abroad and have ended up using it full-time ever since just because I like it better than my regular purse. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-it-more-difficult-for-thieves-to-take-your-property/538945/38 "2010-05-11T15:56:40Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Hmm, maybe I’d feel a little better if I believe that God intends for the assholes who stole my spendy little solar lights to have rapid-onset, debilitating, explosive diarrhea. Yeah, that _does_ help a bit. 🙂 Well that’s possible, but before it is set into motion, consider the other way, that you ask your Heavenly Father to replace those things with better stuff, and that the people who took it also find their way to God, which is what I’ve done when I’ve lost things or they broke. So not so much a way of making things more difficult, but having God insure the items works too. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-it-more-difficult-for-thieves-to-take-your-property/538945/39 "2010-05-11T16:08:51Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Hmm, maybe I’d feel a little better if I believe that God intends for the assholes who stole my spendy little solar lights to have rapid-onset, debilitating, explosive diarrhea. Yeah, that _does_ help a bit. 🙂 No, that’s not what you want to happen to them. You want what’s happened to me to happen to them (Note: I did NOT steal your solar lights). You want a dead animal to crawl into their house and die, ideally somewhere where they can’t get the carcass out. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-it-more-difficult-for-thieves-to-take-your-property/538945/40 "2010-05-11T19:06:26Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > I have come to the conclusion and truly believe that God never intended to live that way, and if we trust in Him He will protect us and things He wants us to have. So now I leave it up to God, and just live life freely, so far no thief has gotten past one of His angels. :rolleyes: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-it-more-difficult-for-thieves-to-take-your-property/538945.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-it-more-difficult-for-thieves-to-take-your-property/538945.md?page=3)