Do you feel comfortable posting info?

[ur2slow]

I see all you guys posting pictures and info about yourselves on the internet, But have you really thought about all the stuff you post. They know where you live, they see the cars you have, than you talk about whats going on this week. And before you know it you come home and your house has been robbed and your pride and joy is missing out of your garage. Not to be an ass but dam now a days you have to keep alot of that stuff private....don't you? I don't have the cars or stuff alot of you have. But I get nervous when I have a garage door open and the guy driving bye is looking real hard inside. Most of my stuff is not worth stealing but some of you ......dam hope you have a security system or two. I just see people posting alot of info about themselves and was curious if you ever thought about that. Just my two cents.

[Itoldyouso]

Very good questions and points. Yes, I do have some concerns about internet and regular theives. That is why most of us on here won't post our last names or certain other info like phone numbers. We also have the same concerns as you about people peering into our shop. When it is 95 degrees here we are forced to keep our shop door open while we work, and sometimes a questionable car or truck slowly passes by, or some Father waiting to pick up his Daughter from the dance studio down the way will stroll in and ask about our cars. Always makes us leary, and we don't want to be rude, but we don't invite them in and generally try to keep anyone, even friends, out.

This subject just came up between my Sons and I this week, and I caught some flack because I advertised some of the furniture I scored in that storage building on Craigslist, and I had the people come to the shop to pick it up. My Sons were worried that people we don't know were able to see what we had inside. But I was careful, and all of the people who I allowed in were older females (60-ish) and in one case the Husband and Wife worked for the local Sherrifs Dept. So I felt comfortable.

We do have alarms and other anti-theft measures in place, but some of these criminals are very good at what they do, and as we have seen from some of the cars that have been stolen, no matter what you do they can still get your stuff. For me, the bottom line is, I refuse to let these jerks make me live my life in fear.



Don

[rspears]

There's no street addresses posted, and anyone who goes to a show or event puts their name & city on their entry ticket. I guess I don't see that posting on a forum like CHR has any more risk than someone asking the UPS or FedEx driver what they've been bringing down the road The internet provides lots of benefits, along with some risks, too. CHR does not seem to be high on the risk side to me, given the way info is used, but maybe I am being naive.

[34_40]

I think about it all the time and try to protect myself as much as possible. And like Don, I refuse to become so paranoid about security that I can no longer enjoy my car(s) and the friends I've made. There are some "persons" out there that can defeat any security I put into place and get my stuff, I can only try to not be a target, but, again, I don't want to seal myself into a vacuum either! Besides, it's only "stuff", the friends are way more important! Have a great Christmas Season!!!

[MelloYello]

I agree with 34 40 - - - - you do the best you can to avoid the pit falls and dangers but you don't want to lose the valuable friends that you acquire thru the internet. I wouldn't take anything for the compadres that I have met on the internet even tho I may never meet them in person.

[26 roadster]

I have a gun and an attitude about thieves, I feel like its like leaving the garage door open all day, everyone knows what you've got anyway. If you want it, ask, I make you a deal on it.

[akrateffil]

It's time honest citizens take back our country from the thugs, gangs, lawyers and politicians!

[Dave Severson]

I'm not paranoid, I know everyon's out to get me..... Sorry to make a joke, but I'm just tired of having to avoid all the crooks and refuse to alter my life to avoid theirs. If it's a professional theif, he's gonna get my stuff anyway. If it's an amatuer, he's gonna have a problem or three....

[HOTRODPAINT]

That's why you have insurance. It's better than losing sleep over it.

I have friends who live a life where all of their decisions are based on fear.. and it greatly limits how they live. It's sad really.

I am not suggesting that a person should be stupid about it. Be aware of the risks, but don't let it control your life.

If you announce that you are attending an event... leave the lights and TV on... an extra car in the drive way if possible... and maybe tell a trusted neighbor who can see the house, pick up the mail and paper, and call the gestapo if there is something going on. Let the thieves guess if there might be someone else still home. Most of them would be cowardly and look for something easier.

[rspears]

If you announce that you are attending an event... leave the lights and TV on... Let the thieves guess if there might be someone else still home. Most of them would be cowardly and look for something easier.

A couple of timers on lights in different parts of the house, and even a radio or TV can mimic your normal patterns while you're gone, turning things on in the main area at dark, off after the news with a bedroom lamp on as main lights go off. The timers with individual switches at each hour are most flexible for patterns.

[BAD RAT]

I have lived in this neighbor hood for 30 years,, we are a tight knit bunch, and watch out for each other,, I live on a corner lot and visable from 4 sides,, So No I don't worry too much about losing anything,, except from my kids,, my son has a habit of loaning stuff out to his buddies,and not tell me about it,, then when I need it I question him,,

I would worry more about Facebook than any car forum,, those people tell their life stories,, people forget they are writing to the world,,,

[pat mccarthy]

well i hope whatever some steal is worth there life.. it taken blood sweat and most all of some s life to get what they have. so you take from someone your life is part of the payment ..if they catch up to you ..really sounds fair to me. the more people under stand this a man or woman have the right to defend whats is there s the less it will happen

[jerry clayton]

We had some stuff stolen from our shop---called the police--came and did sort of a botched up investigation---there was a turbo charger taken out of a glass showcase where a person had to actually lean on the top while taking the turbo out of the case---stupid ass cop couldn't even get a print as he had leaned on it himself----
we had two prime suspects---gave both there names, addresses, when they had been there,etc---went no where---I had made some comments about one and then I was under suspecition for something that had happened to him---

Asked for info on the status of case, nothing, even under FOIA----

From now on, I am the POSSE, and I am pissed

[Itoldyouso]

About 10 years ago I went to the ATM on a Saturday to take out some money and noticed my account seemed a little low. When I got home I opened my bank statement and saw a bunch of strange withdrawls.....$ 60 to a pizza shop, $ 50 to a Chinese Take Out, and a ton of phone charges. Totalled up to about $ 500.00. Monday AM I went and talked to an officer at the bank and she gave me a printout of all the charges and where they were made. They also refunded my $ 500.00 since she could tell they were not ones I had charged.

Being an old bill collector, I wasn't satisfied, and tracked down the girl who had made the charges. She stayed at a local motel for the weekend and ordered up all kinds of food and stuff while she was there. The motel gave me a copy of her driver's license, and I spoke to the places where she had run up a tab with my ATM numbers. The next day I went to the local police dept and gave them a thick file with all the info they needed to make an arrest, and the Desk Sgt who waited on me said "Oh yeah, we know this girl REAL WELL!"

Guess what happened? NOTHING! They essentially told me that $ 500 is not worth pursuing and that the District Attorney would probably not do anything with it. No wonder criminals operate with such impunity in this country.

Don

BTW, I found out she had gotten my atm info out of a trash can, when I tossed a restaurant receipt that had all that info printed out on it. That was before they passed the law where only the last four digits appear.

[IC2]

I'm a little paranoid about my stuff, but a strange vehicle in our neighborhood will usually have its make and license plate number noted by someone. My address - Upstate NY, my last name - there are a couple folks here who know it but for the most part, the folks here are like my neighborhood so I really don't have too much of a problem with the regulars, it's the unknown lurkers. My car - well unfortunately, it does stand out among the SUV's, menopausemobiles and econoboxes in my suburbia neighborhood - but I don't often leave it in the driveway for more then a very few minutes. I do have a monitored alarm system and display window stickers that say so. I back up to a woods that eventually goes to a busy road then an interstate. Neighbors on both sides of us have been burglarized. And yes, I do have several very loud, fairly long devices that when a certain lever is pulled, a pointy thing or many round balls comes out of one end - and one of those devices is always ready, 24/7, to make noises.