6 ms·

And makes it easier for criminals to avoid houses with guns, thus putting the non gun population at risk.

by mkarazin 14y ago

coryl 14y ago
Is there evidence or any cases of criminals doing informational background searches on their targets?
- jacquesm 14y ago
  Burglars routinely monitor the obituaries for dates of funerals to break into houses while the funeral is taking place. For instance: http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20120330/NEWS01/703309874 http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20120330/NEWS01/703309874 But there are many more examples of that. For criminals information is a competitive edge, just like for everybody else. The safe bet is that they exploit that edge to the maximum of their abilities to increase their rewards.
  - droithomme 14y ago
    This is definitely a huge problem in many areas. I've known around a dozen people whose houses were robbed while they were at a funeral. Last funeral I went to, recently, the funeral director told the family members they needed to arrange for people to housesit during the services. They did and two of them were then faced with burglars trying to break in. There are organized crime gangs that read obituaries and make it their business to take your stuff. If you are flying out of state to bury your spouse or parent, the risk is greater. In two cases I know of, a moving truck arrived as soon as they left for the airport and took absolutely everything.
- csense 14y ago
  If a criminal can gather information about his target easily, simply and anonymously, it would be stupid for him (or her) not to do so. AFAIK police departments everywhere have been advising people for at least five decades to be sure someone picks up your mail and newspapers if you're planning to be away, because criminals will realize that nobody lives in or checks up on a house if the mailbox is overflowing. Haven't you ever seen the scene in the original "Home Alone" where the Wet Bandits are casing the neighborhood before they hit the houses?
- nekojima 14y ago
  A number of professional footballers in the UK had their houses broken into during matches they were playing in, in the last two or three years. In some cases repeatedly, after new items were purchased to replace those stolen, the house was broken into again, during another match. I'd guess home matches are best, because their wife/gf/partner will be more likely to go to the stadium, rather than for an away match, when their wife may not travel.
Luff 14y ago
A Swedish e-bay type of service recently got in trouble with the press for allowing private sellers of guns to post their phone numbers in the ads. The reasoning behind this was that criminals could use the phone number to figure out where the sellers lived, and go steal their guns. Funny how these things differ between places.

And makes it easier for criminals to avoid houses with guns, thus putting the non gun population at risk.

coryl 14y ago

Is there evidence or any cases of criminals doing informational background searches on their targets?

jacquesm 14y ago
Burglars routinely monitor the obituaries for dates of funerals to break into houses while the funeral is taking place. For instance: http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20120330/NEWS01/703309874 http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20120330/NEWS01/703309874 But there are many more examples of that. For criminals information is a competitive edge, just like for everybody else. The safe bet is that they exploit that edge to the maximum of their abilities to increase their rewards.
- droithomme 14y ago
  This is definitely a huge problem in many areas. I've known around a dozen people whose houses were robbed while they were at a funeral. Last funeral I went to, recently, the funeral director told the family members they needed to arrange for people to housesit during the services. They did and two of them were then faced with burglars trying to break in. There are organized crime gangs that read obituaries and make it their business to take your stuff. If you are flying out of state to bury your spouse or parent, the risk is greater. In two cases I know of, a moving truck arrived as soon as they left for the airport and took absolutely everything.
csense 14y ago
If a criminal can gather information about his target easily, simply and anonymously, it would be stupid for him (or her) not to do so. AFAIK police departments everywhere have been advising people for at least five decades to be sure someone picks up your mail and newspapers if you're planning to be away, because criminals will realize that nobody lives in or checks up on a house if the mailbox is overflowing. Haven't you ever seen the scene in the original "Home Alone" where the Wet Bandits are casing the neighborhood before they hit the houses?
nekojima 14y ago
A number of professional footballers in the UK had their houses broken into during matches they were playing in, in the last two or three years. In some cases repeatedly, after new items were purchased to replace those stolen, the house was broken into again, during another match. I'd guess home matches are best, because their wife/gf/partner will be more likely to go to the stadium, rather than for an away match, when their wife may not travel.

Luff 14y ago

A Swedish e-bay type of service recently got in trouble with the press for allowing private sellers of guns to post their phone numbers in the ads. The reasoning behind this was that criminals could use the phone number to figure out where the sellers lived, and go steal their guns. Funny how these things differ between places.