Terry has a story that illustrates why it’s not a good idea to have a too-trusting person — say, your mom or your kids — answer your door. If the answerer has the tendency to offer up unsolicited information about when you’ll be away, he could give an unsavory caller an indication of when to rob you.

Terry writes:

My wife just called me kind of panicked.

My mom came over and while she was there somebody knocked on the door (Our front door that we never use).

My mom answered and it was a person offering to clean our carpet in 1 room for free (I am sure he was selling vacuums).

So my mom tells him no thanks and when he goes on, she tells him “This is just a really bad time because we are going out of town for the weekend”

He then sees our dog and asks what kind she is (My dog is a great big Anatolian Shepard) and she tells him how sweet she is.

After he leaves she shut the door and told my wife “I just hate people like that, they give me the creeps!”

So, now we are paranoid that when we get back, our house will be empty. (Leaving Fri and returning Tuesday. And our dog will be at a kennel)

We live in a rural area and well off the street. A robbers’ paradise.

What can we do to stack the cards back in our favor?

Terry adds that he’s considering having his parents house sit for him, but that seems too cruel. What do you do to prevent your house from being robbed while you’re away?

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