Avoiding “Box Stalkers”: Your Trash Could Make You a Target for Thieves
You should break down and conceal big boxes
FARGO, N.D. — If you got big electronics for Christmas, you may be doing something that attracts burglars without even realizing it.
“Most of us are putting those on the curb for trash day when you’re getting your trash picked up,” Jessica Schindeldecker with the Fargo Police Department said.
Police say you should break down those boxes and put them at the bottom of your recycling bin. You can also drive them to one of the city’s recycling locations.
That way you can avoid what police are dubbing “box stalkers.”
“It’s important to think about the people in your neighborhood that shouldn’t be there and what they’re looking for. If they see you have a new TV or PS3, any sort of gaming system, those types of technologies that may make you a target,” Schindeldecker said.
Fargo Police say they haven’t had any reports of box stalkers yet, but it’s important to take precautions.
“We don’t have any reason to believe it’s actually happened here but it could happen here. It’s something a lot of police departments across the country are warning people about, just a heads up, ‘hey, here’s something that could happen, so let’s try to prevent it ahead of time,'” she said.
Not only is it important to be mindful of what you’re putting on the curb, but it’s also a good thing to pay attention to packages delivered at your doorstep.
“A lot of people are shopping online, it’s just really important to continue tracking those shipping notifications and ship them to a safer place if you can,” Schindeldecker said.
Whether it’s the holiday season or not, it’s a good practice to avoid making it obvious that you’re away from home.
“Oftentimes we do see some sort of burglaries that do happen during the holidays such as Thanksgiving or Christmas or spring break, just because people are gone for an extended period of time,” Schindeldecker said.
For a list of recycling locations in the F-M area, click on these links:
