Submitted to me anonymously by a forum member, shared with permission as a warning to others.
Homeowner returned from vacation to find their stash gone. That's not a cheap fire safe either - it was a brand-name security safe designed to be torch and drill resistant. At this time it is not known whether this was a targeted robbery or opportunistic, but presumed discovered during a regular break-in, and the crims returned with the tools to crack it open, which they did successfully. Fortunate they still weren't home when the crims returned with the heavy hitting gear, because they wanted in.
Motto of the story - don't have a safe at home, be paranoid about information security, get out of the White Pages, get a PO Box, don't upload pictures with EXIF data, even use a bank account with a "trading as" account name not your surname - or stick to face-to-face trades in appropriate locations with CCTV.
Don't think that decoys will deter people - these guys returned with oxy-cutting gear to get in once they discovered a safe on the premises. People willing to do that won't be amused if they find they've been dudded with fakes - all you've done is advertised that you thought fake bullion was a good idea.
So many people are willing to scare-monger about safe deposit boxes in banks or private companies - but when was the last time you saw that level of safe-cracking happen inside a bank vault in Australia. Houses get robbed all the time.
I'm not in possession of any further details to discuss the specifics of this incident further in a public forum.
Homeowner returned from vacation to find their stash gone. That's not a cheap fire safe either - it was a brand-name security safe designed to be torch and drill resistant. At this time it is not known whether this was a targeted robbery or opportunistic, but presumed discovered during a regular break-in, and the crims returned with the tools to crack it open, which they did successfully. Fortunate they still weren't home when the crims returned with the heavy hitting gear, because they wanted in.
Motto of the story - don't have a safe at home, be paranoid about information security, get out of the White Pages, get a PO Box, don't upload pictures with EXIF data, even use a bank account with a "trading as" account name not your surname - or stick to face-to-face trades in appropriate locations with CCTV.
Don't think that decoys will deter people - these guys returned with oxy-cutting gear to get in once they discovered a safe on the premises. People willing to do that won't be amused if they find they've been dudded with fakes - all you've done is advertised that you thought fake bullion was a good idea.
So many people are willing to scare-monger about safe deposit boxes in banks or private companies - but when was the last time you saw that level of safe-cracking happen inside a bank vault in Australia. Houses get robbed all the time.
I'm not in possession of any further details to discuss the specifics of this incident further in a public forum.