Crime reporter reveals tactics burglars use to vet homes before breaking in including one common trap homeowners fall for

This puts the “con” in “recon.”Not all break-in artists are as obvious as the Big Bad Wolf.Veteran crime reporter Lori Fullbright divulged the surprisingly common phrases burglars use while scoping your house — and what actions to take if someone knocks and says them.She spilled the beans in a video with over 400,000 views on TikTok.According to Fullbright, who has spent over 30 years covering crime for Oklahoma’s News on 6, bad actors will initially knock on the target’s door to see if they’re home before breaking in.

When this happens, don’t go quiet and pretend you’re not there, as they’ll take it as sign the house is empty and kick in the door, per the journo.In addition, never open the door to “anyone you don’t know personally” because this could endanger the homeowner.Instead, Fullbright advises talking through the door to let prospective home invaders know the “house is not empty” while staying out of harm’s way.Unfortunately, this will likely prompt the robber to revert to Plan B — say something that’ll trick the homeowner to open the door so they can evaluate the property or force their way inside.One commonly used phrase? Asking if someone random who you don’t know is there.

Fullbright says that the right response is to inform the burglar that there is no one with that name present and tell them to “move along.” The crime correspondent said that she would even go one step further and “call 911 right then” to inform them that there’s a “guy prowling around the neighborhood asking for someone who doesn’t live there.”Another frequent scouting tactic these wolves-in-civilian’s clothing often deploy is to pretend that they’re looking for their lost dog.In response, the homeowner should call them out, per Fullbright.

“No you haven’t, you are knocking on doors trying to see if someone’s home so that if they are not, you can kick the door and break in and steal their stuff,” the news anchor sa...