identity theft

[Ron in BC]

On the other hand many people do enable the security features on their devices.

We've been away from our house for months at a time but it's never been a major concern. We do things to prevent it from looking like no ones there, have the grass cut etc. and use a good alarm system.

But times have changed. I have a friend that spends a lot of time in Edmonton. When I go in his house to check on things, feed the fish etc. I walk over to the nearest camera and wave, knowing that he's already seeing me, on his phone, in the house.

It is an increasingly nasty world out there but our view is; take the precautions a prudent person would take and carry on. Of course, I'm probably one of the few people with an alarm system on my trailer.

Ron

[JohnB]

Then you hear about all the information that your Smart TV is relaying to others that you have no idea of??
I much prefer a Dumb TV and try to figure the rest out myself!!

[C&G in FL]

All I can say is that my location is listed as Tampa Bay Area. Good luck to the unscrupulous trying to locate my exact location given the size of Tampa Bay. Furthermore, the Owner's Map pin for my trailer is at least 40 miles from where the trailer is actually stored. I am neither living in fear nor paranoid, but I do take precautions. That is why I get upset with some of the idiots (yes, idiots) who post on the sightings threads here and on FGRV. You know the ones who will post, "I saw an Escape 19 going north on I-50 near St. Louis being towed by a green Honda Odyssey with Tennessee plates. Yes, let's advertise to the local criminal element who may know who owns an Escape 19 and tows it with green Odyssey that the owner is near St. Louis and not in Tennessee. Open invitation for home burglary, in spite of all the precautions that the Escape 19 owner might have taken. Real smart! That's why I say idiots, who post information that shouldn't be posted.

[cpaharley2008]

It is a shame that in todays society, one must hide under anonymity

[cpaharley2008]

When you think about it, just about every thread has something, "What is out your back window" tells everyone where you are or even better, the list of attendees to the Escape Rally, where and when you will be. Perhaps we all need "witness protection" in order to feel safe, it is a shame......

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

It is a shame that in todays society, one must hide under anonymity

The thing is though, that we can't really hide. Privacy is just a state of mind, and if someone really wants into something, they can do it. It is a shame though, regardless.

[santacruzer]

My mother had newspaper articles from the "real old days", when society pages would actually publish who was going to be taking what cruise to Europe. "Mr & Mrs. Germaine Dingleforth will be visiting their German relatives in Bonn for all of August, and returning home in time to open their house in September for their daughter's wedding." Try that today and see how long the silver service stays intact!

[cpaharley2008]

Where did we fail?

[Patandlinda]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

On the other hand many people do enable the security features on their devices.

We've been away from our house for months at a time but it's never been a major concern. We do things to prevent it from looking like no ones there, have the grass cut etc. and use a good alarm system.

But times have changed. I have a friend that spends a lot of time in Edmonton. When I go in his house to check on things, feed the fish etc. I walk over to the nearest camera and wave, knowing that he's already seeing me, on his phone, in the house.

It is an increasingly nasty world out there but our view is; take the precautions a prudent person would take and carry on. Of course, I'm probably one of the few people with an alarm system on my trailer.

Ron

We don't have one either . Just lock up what we can . Pat

[cpaharley2008]

Anyone remember the old Bill Cosby record albums about growing up in the 1950's? Parents would rather leave their children alone than use a baby sitter and they would tell stories about snakes being on the floor to keep the child in their crib, made me thing of having snakes as a deterrent.....

[gbaglo]

Anyone remember Bill Cosby?
Oh yah, that guy.

[Dave Walter]

I recognize that the world can be a nasty place. I take precautions where I can. I don't advertise my absences and when I am gone, there is always someone looking after my property in my absence. I have good insurance. If sh*t happens while I am away, I or my insurance company will sort it out. I don't worry excessively about it.


I had my credit card number stolen a few months ago, possibly from an on-line purchase, and the thieves racked up about $1300 in pay pal charges before it was noticed on my invoice. Was a bit of a hassle to resolve, mostly waiting on hold for Visa to answer their phone. Needed to get them to issue a new card and the credit card company carried out their own fraud investigation, and ended up crediting my card for the disputed charges. I'll try to be more careful in the future, but there is not too much I will change.

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Anyone remember the old Bill Cosby record albums about growing up in the 1950's? Parents would rather leave their children alone than use a baby sitter and they would tell stories about snakes being on the floor to keep the child in their crib, made me thing of having snakes as a deterrent.....

During the time our kids were in school, grades 1-12, it would be a rare occasion the door was locked on a school day. The kids never carried keys.

I remember back to the early 70's, when my grandfather was terrible upset with the fact that he had to put locks on their farmhouse. Until then, it was something nobody did. That was until some lowlife types figured out that they could pull up with a truck and load up all the good stuff from the house at their leisure. Grandpa and Granny were fortunately never robbed. The same went for their fuel tanks, once safe unlocked, that is until these same kinda lowlifes started stealing it.

I still err on the side of trust. I may get burned once in a while, but it sure makes the rest of my life a whole lot less stressful than others seem to cause themselves. You may chastise my nonchalant stance if you wish, but it is who I am, and it works for me.

[Patandlinda]

Originally Posted by ice-breaker

I recognize that the world can be a nasty place. I take precautions where I can. I don't advertise my absences and when I am gone, there is always someone looking after my property in my absence. I have good insurance. If sh*t happens while I am away, I or my insurance company will sort it out. I don't worry excessively about it.


I had my credit card number stolen a few months ago, possibly from an on-line purchase, and the thieves racked up about $1300 in pay pal charges before it was noticed on my invoice. Was a bit of a hassle to resolve, mostly waiting on hold for Visa to answer their phone. Needed to get them to issue a new card and the credit card company carried out their own fraud investigation, and ended up crediting my card for the disputed charges. I'll try to be more careful in the future, but there is not too much I will change.

I guess my very bad experience with Earthquake insurance in 1994 to restore my home , I don't have a lot of faith I will be in good hands with insurance . I had to fight and basically be like a lawyer to get what was owed . If they can get away with anything they will try and many times succeed . I really don"t want to go through that . I know I can"t stop what happens but I sure will try . Pat

[Mike Lewis]

Before I bought my trailer and started taking long trips I put a fence and gate on my property. I live in a rural area and the yard is big. I figured that wouldn't keep someone from breaking in, but it would make it harder for someone to drive a truck up to my front door and load it up. The only items I have that are valuable (to me, anyway) are large and heavy, and thieves would have to carry them to the road. The gate and good, nosy, well-armed country neighbors give me a bit of peace of mind.

[Mike Lewis]

Another idea that I've read about is to install a metal exterior door on a large closet in your house, complete with deadbolt. It would serve as a secure room to put smaller items when you're gone. It's not quite a walk-in safe, but close enough. A thief would probably not take the time needed to break in, and would find another target instead. Especially if they don't know what's behind the door.

Remember, thieves are looking for small, valuable items that are easy to grab and run with, and hopefully (to them) easy to sell. Laptops, cameras, jewelry, etc. Anything like that could be placed in a secured closet as described above.

[PGDriver]

I just realized the the rally dates are posted on this forum and list of attendees. [emoji848]
Anyways if anyone is monitoring the thread when I go camping I take everything to the neighbours[emoji6]

Cheers
Doug

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by PGDriver

I just realized the the rally dates are posted on this forum and list of attendees. [emoji848]
Anyways if anyone is monitoring the thread when I go camping I take everything to the neighbours[emoji6]

Cheers
Doug

I post participants information (as provided to me) on the threads for the NOGs. Never, ever any last names and whatever City/State I'm provided (or whatever I see in the owner's profile). I don't see this as being an issue relating to the bad guy finding information about when someone is going to be gone from home. Facebook is a treasure trove of that kind of information, doubtful an all-molded-towable forum is "leakage."

[tractors1]

I've often had people wonder why I don't payments via Pay Pal. It's because I don't trust their security - I don't need another layer to fight with should my ID or that of a customer be stolen. I use a merchant services processor so I don't see any information AND pay insurance in the event customer info is stolen.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

When you think about it, just about every thread has something, "What is out your back window" tells everyone where you are...

The easy fix for this and similar situations is simply patience: post the photo and description for everyone to enjoy and discuss, but do it after you get home. This is about sharing experiences, not transmitting breaking news.

Originally Posted by santacruzer

My mother had newspaper articles from the "real old days", when society pages would actually publish who was going to be taking what cruise to Europe. "Mr & Mrs. Germaine Dingleforth will be visiting their German relatives in Bonn for all of August, and returning home in time to open their house in September for their daughter's wedding." Try that today and see how long the silver service stays intact!

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Where did we fail?

Back then, the audience for the newspaper was relatively limited. We now communicate much more widely, so such announcements are available to the world, and we make information much easier to process, so the very few people who would misuse such information can easily find what they need.

As members of an online forum, I assume that we all prefer today's information-rich society to the "good old days", but perhaps some would rather go back.