Thieves use a number of different strategies when deciding on which houses to rob. Many home invasions are crimes of opportunity. A thief sees a sudden opportunity and tries to take advantage of it in that moment. However, other robberies are much more deliberate and planned. Professional thieves treat crime as a career, and are very diligent about selecting targets and not getting caught. Knowing how they select their targets helps you to prepare properly so your house looks a lot less attractive to them.

This also helps you spot a potential thief in advance, preventing a home invasion from happening.

Observation

Thieves are always looking for new targets, and they are very good at finding homes that are vulnerable. They do this by being observant and watching houses over a period of time. This helps them get a sense of when people are typically home and when they are not. Details like multiple newspapers in the driveway or multiple days worth of mail in the mailbox suggest when a homeowner is away on a vacation or business trip. Exterior lights on during the day and interior lights off in the early evening also suggest that the home is empty.

Thieves also place themselves in positions where they can observe a home without looking suspicious. They sometimes pose as deliverymen, or actually work at a delivery service. They may also work as a repairman or pose as one to walk around a neighborhood without immediately raise suspicion.

Research

Home burglars also research targets by looking through mail or stealing trash.

This helps a thief in multiple ways. It gives them an idea of your buying habits, your daily schedule and what types of items you have in your home. This information also makes you vulnerable to data or financial theft, because your trash or mail often contains information or clues to your account numbers, passwords and other sensitive personal information. Trash around the holidays also frequently contains boxes and packages that reveal what valuables just came into your home for the holiday season, which makes your home more attractive.

Testing

Some thieves add another wrinkle to their preparations by performing little tests to see how you or your security precautions respond. For example, a thief may leave a package at the end of your driveway to see how long it takes you to pick it up. Another tactic is to loosen or break out a light bulb from an exterior light to see how long it takes you to replace or repair it. Walking around the house or knocking on the door under false pretenses helps to determine if you have a home security system or if you have a dog in the home that could present problems.

Another tactic is to call your house as a telemarketer or to pretend to offer some other service as an excuse to ask you questions about your house. This is why you should always have a healthy skepticism when facing unsolicited phone calls offering services and asking personal questions about your home.

Countermeasures

Your best defense is to remain diligent yourself. An effective neighborhood watch program helps you look out for suspicious activity near your home. Staying careful with putting your trash out and collecting your mail helps foil a thief’s quest for information. Owning and using a home security system also helps make your house less attractive. If a thief sees that you are observant and that you utilize good security habits, he is less likely to pick you as a target because of the higher likelihood of getting caught.

Thieves come in all shapes, sizes and types. While some burglars are opportunists who don’t think through their crimes ahead of time, others are cold, calculating and treat home burglary as a profession. To counter that mindset, you have to treat your home and property as an asset that requires protecting. This attitude helps keep your family safer as well.