Tis the Season for Situations X - Don't be a "Victim"

     Each and every day, around the noon hour, I take my dog for a long walk. This walk is up and down hills, through neighborhood alleys and long residential streets. Along the way we encounter a few people who are walking dogs, mowing lawns or other randoms chores. One thing I always see in abundance while on our walk are cars that are parked curbside. In L.A. and its surrounding cities this is obviously nothing new. What I really find interesting is when I walk past many of these cars, people have left a lot of valuables either on the center console or passenger/rear seats.
     It's not that I am looking for valuables to steal, but if you had known me in my teenage years, those valuables would have been gone in a flash. As I said, I'm not actively looking for valuables, but I can't help but to see inside these cars as my dog casually sniffs the local scents left by other dogs. On today's walk I noticed a truck with the passenger window halfway down. No driver was in sight and there was what looked like a cell phone and an iPod sitting on the center console just waiting for the right minded thief to come along. In another car was a purse on the passenger seat. Whether it any money within is not a question. It's whether the owner of the car wanted to replace the window at a minimum of $100.
     If you must know, if one wanted to snatch the purse, it takes all of three seconds. As for breaking into the truck, depending on the availability of escape, it takes less than five seconds to reach in to the door latch, open the door and snag the iPod/cell phone.
     I bring this up because it's a Situations X. Too many times I see people have left themselves vulnerable for costs they just don't need to incur. Recently, a friend posted on FB that she had been ripped off, a new bicycle had been stolen, as well as, a few other items. It's unfortunate but, often times, we don't secure our property until it's after the fact and the stuff we really cherished is now gone; a Situations X wake-up call that sucks.
     Here is just a small list of things to check to prevent a Situations X

• Does your garage have a padlock on it? Garages rarely have alarms and are easily and silently opened in the middle of the night or even during the day when no one suspects a thief in the alley.
• Do you leave a window slightly opened or the window lock in the released position? An expert thief knows how to slip a window lock in about 3-5 seconds. Put a stick in the window sliding slot. The thief will usually check the other windows for an easier way in.
• Do you leave a laptop computer or any other valuables in your car, trunk included? Never leave anything in your car, day or night, that you do not want to lose. Schlep it in the house rather than being lazy. 
• Do you leave ladders on the side of your house? Most people believe that a thief won't enter from a second floor but they will if one leaves them a way into the house, such as, a ladder.
• Have you replaced the items a thief has stolen? Often times a thief will come back in the next month if they believe you have replaced the big screen TV that they stole. They know that people can't live without a TV.  
  There are many ways to prevent a Situations X. The first thing is to never be lazy about protecting what you own and want to keep. Secondly, never underestimate a thief. Third, protect your valuables by having either renter's insurance or a homeowner's theft policy. Fourth, if you do replace the stolen items, such as, a TV, Stereo or anything that comes in a big box with packaging materials, before you take the packaging material to the trash be sure to tear it up so it's not visible when in the trash container. There is nothing that tells a thief you have replaced the stolen items than a big box displaying the latest 42" screen TV. In that case you're just inviting a return visit or another thief. 

Since this is the season to not only be jolly, it is also the season to be very careful. If going out of town, it's best to not let people know ahead of time, other than, perhaps one trusted neighbor to keep an eye out. Thieves also happen to know that most people who have taken a holiday vacation will be going back to work soon after the New Year; it's likely that there are new valuables in the house, let's hope that one of them is a surveillance camera that allows you to check on the interior of your home from any computer, anywhere.
Prevention is key! Don't let the season bring you a SituationsX.