One thing that I should mention is that I live in a block of units where the neighbors can see when people are coming and going, this would make it hard to get in and out with large items without being seen and also if they are noisy they are likely to draw attention to the neighbors. I also think that I could cover up a safe with clothes and blankets in the wardrobe making it harder to see, they would only find it if they had a thorough search of the wardrobe. Generally speaking most burglars would only take items in eye site like TV's etc but I don't want to make an ass out of myself by making assumptions.
Anything to slow thieves down is good but if the thieves are experienced and especially if they have some good idea that you have precious metals (coins, blobs, whatever), then they won't be looking for the tv or typical valuables that an ordinary thief would....the thief that knows you have pm's will be on a very specific mission and will likely bring tools to make that mission as successful as you allow them to be. The other thing, don't rely or count on your neighbors to be vigilant for you. They have theuir lives to take care of and they may not even be around on the day that the pro thieves have purposefully selected to target your home. I'm giving you worst case scenarios....but that's exactly what you need to prepare for. ..
Big snake protecting your vault (there are sometimes some smaller protecting diamonds, etc.): [img=FluxBB bbcode Sssssssnakey]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-803gkOdBrmU/T2KYUrLXofI/AAAAAAAAD7o/F5qw4bbL6zc/s640/snakes_conan2.jpg[/img] High tech security: [img=FluxBB bbcode MissionPossible]http://www.3drealms.com/duke3d/images/walkthrough/e4/e4m1_cruise_impossible.jpg[/img] Safe#1: [img=FluxBB bbcode Safe]http://sclick.net/cool%20gadgets/fun-newest-high-tech-gadget-gifts/23/top-coolest-best-latest-new-fun-tech-gadgets-gifts-dottling_safe.jpg[/img] Safe#2: [img=FluxBB bbcode Safe]http://www.childabuseconsulting.com/vault.jpg[/img] But don't forget. Anything can be cracked. ^^
Maybe wait till you have more oz, before looking for storage worth the name. Once that is the case, and by then, think of ways to make it harder to steal it. A safe is just one way. A safe on its own doesn't make safety. Nothing on its own does. Safety is a like a program that is optimized upto maturity. Most of the bugs are gone, but a certain set of conditions may still reveal one. But it may not matter for daily usage of the program. Make it harder. Whatever way you can think of. Put yourself in the place of a thief, and think how you can inflict yourself alot work.
:lol: , thats why I said harddrives. He had 1 out in the open and another hidden away in locked cabinet (not locked well enough though) and was hidden extreamly well and they found both. His thinking was if they got that far and found 1, they would stop looking. Police claimed they had tracked the group up from down south all the way up the coast, they would know where they had been after the group moved on. Very professional at doing the break ins, would stay in an area for a week and move on. Evidently not so professional at identifying fake jewelry while taking it though. Usual response from police, they would look into it but nothing ever came back.
Maybe the thieves just followed the cables of the camera's back to the switcher/multiplexer and the recording devices. That's possible even if the cables are embedded in the wall (along a detector), and these days most cables aren't, they sit inside accessible channels.
Thats what he thought also after it happened. What ever happened, they sure knew what they were doing. He had a bit of a laugh about it afterwards because they were so good at it and got around everything he could think to do. Im sure the insurance he got back helped him find the funny side to it all.
This is a stickup! Your money or your life! In this scenario, it doesn't matter too much how clever you are, you'll just hand it over. The non-bank security box is best. Unless of course you're slightly hard of hearing, My wife, I'm saving.
They were probably quite experienced at breaking in and thieving but they probably were not so learned at ascertaining what is real gold / silver and isn't. Though I wouldn't be able to tell just by looking at well made costume jewelry either. That's why I have my acid kit. .
If the place you live in has pelmets above the curtains you could line them up along there. Under carpet is another good spot but is a bit dodgy. Inside large curtain rods could work. Or get your granny to make a door snake with a little zip on it and stash some in there. A thief will look everywhere so you need to think out side the square. Those tube beds that you can buy would also make a good stash place. But the main thing is DONT tell ANYONE!!! Don't like things on Facebook or talk about it on twitter. People can see what you do on there and you might think of them as friends but trust no one. My best mate is a locksmith and I won't even go to his shop to buy a safe because the other workers there know where I live. Have many small stashes not one big one. If someone does find it, it's only a small amount not a lot. I have a treasure chest full of scrap coins clearly visible in my room. My ex wife knows I'm into coins and I don't trust her. I also have a safe in plain sight. It contains coins I don't care about and a small amount of cash. My main stash will never be found ( I hid it under the bed ). Lol I'm sure you will think of many places to hide your loot. Use your imagination. It can be very interesting what you can come up with.
Actually this gives me an idea when the grease trap or sewerage overflows next. Could get them cleaned out for free from a kindly stranger who reads my twitter posts about where the gold's stashed
Bathroom floor wastes and toilet cisterns.............a great idea however if the thieves are robbing your house to finance their drug habit, they may (if smart) or may not look here. In the hotel and apartment short term accommodation sector, the cleaning staff constantly find silver wire still attached to the removable "silver" coloured floor wastes. covered with a bath mat, or cisterns unscrewed after the dealers check out.
The thing is, thieves accumulate experience the same way as others in other jobs. You can think of nifty hiding places, but they can too, it's their 'job', their specialty, and its likely they know better than you where stuff can be hidden. The rest of the finding is then just a matter of time, if you have a small house then you have fewer hiding places, and vice versa. I think the best approach is to inflict them as much work (and thus time) as possible. If you 'invest' in pms, you can aswell 'invest' abit in secondhand things that occupy space and add lotsa storage room. And secondhand things to fill them up, if what you have doesnt suffice. It all costs little (people often just throw those things away in a home change process / reorganisation/cleanup), but it greatly increases the amount things/places thieves have to go through to find the valuable stuff.
read an article once that interviewed a guy who used to be a burglar he said that at the time he was also a drug addict and he was not only after money but also any drugs that might be in the house so he would always check all the places somebody might hide drugs he'd empty out all the cereal boxes on to the kitchen floor, look in the freezer, inside the toilet cistern etc.
I recently bought a very large aquarium. I like fishys anyways and love the irony of the shipwreck ornament at the bottom of the tank. Just thinking outside the square and keepin' it fresh.
That's quite a doorstop collection you've got there goanna... I've seen some people collect some weird things but... doorstops?
