Looking out our front door.
I noticed a helicopter circling our backyard after our guests left Friday night. That was odd. When we moved here a little over three years ago, I felt so safe. We went to bed without locking our doors. Our doors were unlocked when we went shopping or on walks.
Now I make sure the doors are locked even while we’re home in the daytime.
That’s because there’s an organized crime ring, using high tech gadgets to scramble WiFi and cameras, breaking into homes.
From the AZ Central:
Thieves responsible for a series of dinnertime burglaries in Phoenix, Scottsdale and Paradise Valley have targeted homes when residents were away and under the cloak of darkness. Jewelry, cash and precious metals stolen from homes have been sold on the black market.
Scottsdale police said a total of 33 burglaries were confirmed in the city; 131 cases have been throughout the Valley since the first trend of burglaries started in 2019.
The Tuesday meeting focused on what law enforcement describes as crime tourists, typically originating from South America, and the high-tech, dedicated means the criminals used to elude arrest.
Lt. Jeffery Hawkins, Scottsdale’s expert on the topic, worked on recent surveillance operations that saw the burglars in action. He said crime tourists were believed to be exploiting a visa-less entry into the U.S. through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization program. The waives a visa for tourists and businesspeople like bankers who are entering the country for a short time.
“We don’t know who they are. We don’t know their family. We don’t know where and if they’ve done any criminal activity in their native country like Chile, we don’t have access to that information.” said Hawkins. “It’s a blank slate that we have to start putting together,” added Hawkins.
Hawkins said the crime tourists often ship stolen items to South America or to be sold in larger black-market rings on the West and East coasts.
“This crew is fast, elusive and professional,” said Hawkins, who described the burglars as “ghosts.”
Hawkins also added that police have found the group using Wi-Fi and cellular signal jammers, which can disable the signal to a home’s security system. The device, which consists of a green plastic brick with dozens of black antennae exiting the top, can invade a signal from 30 to 50 feet away.
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/scottsdale-breaking/2024/02/28/metro-phoenix-crime-tourist-dinner-time-burglaries-continue/72774952007/
When we lived downtown Palm Springs, we had a homeless guy living in our yard. I had my bicycle stolen and we had two break-ins. One of the things I liked best moving to Arizona was the sense of safety. I’m so disappointed that I feel afraid in my own home, have my doors locked and watch helicopters circling overhead.
Have you heard about dinnertime burglaries or crime tourists?
What do you do to feel safe in your home?
This is indeed disturbing. Stay safe my friend. Hugs 🤗
Thank you!
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😊
It sticks that the place where you felt safe is changing for the worst
It is. I felt so good about the safety here. It was amazing to not have to lock our doors.
“Fast, elusive and professional”…descriptors you don’t want to hear about criminals.
It’s organized crime. Not a group of teens or street criminals. The police think they go back and forth to South America all the time.
Sigh…stay safe! ❤️
I think we’re a little far out for them, but you never know. The police said they go into homes that back up to a wash, which we do. Erin said they use ATVs.
Always a good reminder to stay safe. Take care!
Yes. We’re next to a town called Carefree. I felt carefree when we moved here!
🥰☀️🥰
I’m sorry EA, that you are facing this so close to home. However I don’t feel surprised. There are few places that are truly secure and safe anymore. Sadly my bigger fear would be that they go from simply breaking into empty homes to violence when the owners are there. If criminals want in they are going to find a way.
You’re correct. The police have said so far in the more than 100 burglaries, nobody has been hurt. I guess I should be thankful for that. Hopefully they don’t move on to violence.
Maybe a big dog or two? Or signs that warn about a big dog and a sound machine with a dog barking every few minutes when you’re not home? I guess this is where it is nice to not have too many nice things. Lol. If someone broke into my house, they might get my laptop… but it is backed up and replaceable. After that, I don’t own too much of value. I worry less about break-ins and more about retirement. But I’m working thru that anxiety and learning to trust ALL the details of my life to the God who has brought me this far against all odds. I want His will, whatever that means. Easier to say than feel, right?
We’ve had big dogs most of our married life. But saying goodbye was so hard that we didn’t want to go through the heartbreak again. I’ve heard the burglars have drones with heat sensors to see if anyone is home! Like you said, things are replaceable. We don’t have much of valuables either. Faith in God helps.
We’ve been having problems in our neighborhood, too, and the town hall meetings have been packed to capacity lately. My in-laws’ friends were over and said that there were three homes in their neighborhood backing up to the McDowell Mountains that have been burglarized. Along with the scramblers, they have ATVs to get to and from the homes quickly and with ease. Though, we’ve heard they avoid homes with large dogs and homes where it’s clear there are people home (light patterns, silhouettes, etc.). Stay safe!
That’s really scary. We used to have a large dog for most of our married life. I almost would like one now except for Olive the cat would not be happy. I didn’t know about the ATVs.
Most crime in our neighborhood is crimes of opportunity, unlocked cars. Apparently, our neighborhood was home to serval individuals who were mentally unstable. We went through a period where unstable was an issue. At that time the slider was usually unlocked (let dogs in, let dogs out) when we were home, now it is locked all the time.
It’s sad to have doors locked at all times. We had unstable people in our old neighborhood. I was relieved to get away from that.
That is definitely unnerving.
It is!
Oh, that’s too bad, Elizabeth. This is disturbing on so many levels. I hope that law enforcement is able to put a stop to this soon.
They arrested three people from Chile with fake passports. But the police said there are dozens coming and going, so they are asking for all of our help in staying safe.
So disturbing EA. Ugh. Hate the idea of this.
Thanks for your concern. It is sad that crime has come to our area that felt so safe.
Yikes! No I haven’t heard of any of this. Keep things locked!
Yes. I’m getting used to locked doors. It’s how I lived in California. I bragged about how I kept my doors unlocked in Arizona.
Yeah, we were like that here, too. Not anymore.
It’s sad.
I hadn’t heard about this, but yeah….
I never feel safe, because I think safety is an illusion. I just try to take precautions. That being said, apparently we are getting national guard in our subways to protect us…
I just heard about the national guard in the subways. I hope it helps, but it’s also scary.
After awhile it just becomes part of day to day
The first year I was here I took a Lyft from the airport home. My driver was a former deputy officer. I asked him about crime and he said we didn’t have much except for speeding. It’s a shame it’s changed, but I just have to lock my doors.
I’m reading your posts in backward order. Somehow Feedly didn’t tell me about them in a timely fashion. Be that as it may, I don’t like knowing about this kind of robbery and can’t help but wonder how long it’ll be until that sort of things happens here. Maybe never, fingers crossed.
What’s crazy about this South American crime gang is how sophisticated they are. They use devices to scramble WIFI and cameras. I’ve read they use heat sensors on drones to determine if anyone is home. Yes, they are throughout the country. Let’s hope they don’t arrive in your hometown.
I’ve read about the scrambled WIFI devices in general, just not in any specific ways. Makes me wonder if we all need to go back to having landlines again?
That’s an interesting idea. My husband has an old fashioned desk phone for business, but I think it’s connected to WIFI and not a real landline.
I’m so sorry to hear this Elizabeth! That’s just so disturbing. I live in a small suburb, homes really close together and my daughter across the street. We all keep a close eye out for each other. I have feeling unsafe. Hope it improves. Hugs. C
Thank you, Cheryl. It’s such a strange thing to think about. I felt so safe since we moved here until the last few months. I guess it’s not smart to leave my doors unlocked.