A robbery ring was busted about a year ago here in Los Angeles...enterprising thieves got information about who was traveling from their friends in the post office and the LA Times. Advance vacation holds of mail & newspapers gave the group time to scout and plan the robberies...

If the thieves know nobody is home, I'd think this could actually make a house a target as thieves love to steal guns. JM2C though, I'm all for being armed.

Better yet, just put a cell phone number on the tags. Putting your work address just gives them information they don't need. It's not like they're going to deliver it without a claim, anyway. Not too hard for a good thief to use social engineering with someone you work with.

Don't use a home phone number, as they can be easily traced, even if you think you're unlisted. Cell phone records are much harder to get.

And yes, a house cannot be robbed without someone present. It's a burglary. Just for definition, a robbery requires a theft to be from the immediate control of a person using force or threat of force.

Indeed, I am aware. The dealer promised me that no other locksmith for at least 200 miles would be using the same keyway, and even then, only authorized Medeco locksmiths (who would never agree to attempt to duplicate another dealer's restricted key) have access to blanks. There's nothing more secure in key control except factory-level restricted, but that seems a little bit of overkill for a residence (more appropriate for banks, federal facilities, etc).

Also, my cylinder is not the original Biaxial DBK; it's Medeco 3 (or M3) DBK, a newer technology. The Medeco3 patent doesn't expire until 2021.

[QUOTE=gardener;12238450]I have heard that you should put your work address on checked bags, rather than your home address. Otherwese every baggage handler knows you are travelling and has your address.

If your bags are lost, you can always request they be sent to your home when you fill out the lost bags claim.
QUOTE]

I put the address of where my bags and I are going.

Stalkers -- like other criminally-minded persons -- have been known to use travel/travel-related information to figure out how to go after a target. The TSA's ID (which often includes the home address) and DOB demand -- as part of the government's travel monitoring and control of otherwise free citizens -- can only further the threat of break-ins and other criminal harm while a person is away from home.

As long as you're fine with knowing that it is impossible to say that a key can not be duplicated, then great. 99.99% of the public doesn't want to know the inner workings, in the first place.

If you want to throw a bit of money at a problem, almost anything can be bypassed. In fact, the key wouldn't even have to be out of your control, for someone who really knew what they were doing to make a key. I'm not out to fear monger, but just that nothing is 100%.

I used to get a real chuckle, when I'd see a $150 lock on a $15 door. Sometimes, even mounted wrong, so you could pull the hinge pins and open the door.

When organising transport to the airport I always give the street number of the block of flats next door to my house and a cell phone number, and aim to be on the street waiting before the driver gets there. The driver never has my actual address.

Luggage tag has the address of where I am going to. When coming home, it just has the cell phone number.

I work very hard to minimise the number of people who might know that the house is empty. I don't post my itineraries to Flyertalk or any on-line blogs, and wince slightly ever time I sign up for a FT Do, since that's published.

Audrey

Something I have not seen mentioned on here about getting to airport when traveling on a long vacation. We always rent a car for a day from a local rental car place and drive it to the airport and turn it in there. Cost is usually equal to or less than a van or car service to the airport and we get to leave on our time versus a schedule.

home robbery
 

read something several years ago where homes were being hit from info received at a Doggie Hotel. the residents would leave Fido for 2 weeks so the perps knew what their window was.