Worried of Being Robbed after Posting Pictures

[zmotorsports]

I was reading another forum and this topic was brought up. I am curious as I too have been contemplating this very thing as I have been getting approached more and more lately from co-workers and friends who think I would do a good job at some instructional youtube videos.


I am proud of my work and my shop and love showing both off to friends but I worry about posting up pictures and videos for the entire world to see. I talked to several home security representatives a few years ago and they all told me the same thing, that is, statistically a robbery is performed by someone who has been on the premises, in the home or in the shop. Randoms happen but not as often as you would think.


With that rationale, I would think I would be more likely to be robbed by someone who I did some work for vs. someone who merely saw my shop on a forum or on a youtube video.


I did a search and could not come up with a thread where this was discussed in detail, merely thought and opinions mixed in with multiple non-related threads.


I thought I would throw this up for no other reason than to get a dialogue going and have some open feedback/discussion.


I am curious as to what others feel on the subject.


Do you worry that if you post up pictures and/or videos of your home workshop you will be more likely to get robbed or are you not worried about that risk/chance?


Let's here from anyone who has thoughts or opinions on the matter.


Thanks.


Mike.

 

[mattthemuppet2]

I'm not really worried about posting pictures of my garage leading to an increased chance of robbery as it would take a fair bit of effort to link those pictures to an actual property (note, I don't do "yay, having an icecream on the porch 1234 Bog End" Facebook posts). I do worry about people coming to pick stuff up that we give away as we're moving soon peering into the garage and coming back while we're out with a pick up truck. Not much I can do about that other than lock things up and not give stuff away.

then again, if I were a business with an obvious business name and address, I might think twice about posting pics. As the insurance guys state, you're basically giving would be thieves an inventory of your stuff, how much it's worth and what equipment they'd need to carry it away.

 

[Grumpy Gator]

Security is a concern these days.I wouldn't worry about videos as much as I would mask or block license plates or other location identifiers.
Never hurts to have a large dog or two in the background either.
Night lights and even dummy cameras help.I've had good luck with some old gun range targets with bullet holes posted in the windows and by the door to the shop.
Don't forget to mark your tools and record the serial numbers just in case.
*********Just Saying********************Gator******************:shotgun:

 

[zmotorsports]

In my situation I would be more apt to be robbed by someone that I have done work for vs. someone who saw pictures or videos on the internet.

That said, I have been a lot more selective of who I do work for over the past year or so. If someone calls me to have some work done, they have to be referred by someone I really trust or I don't do it. I have also asked people that I know to not forward my name/phone number to people unless they could vouch for the persons' integrity. That has really slowed down business but I feel better about the ones that I deal with.

My wife and I do NOT participate in Facebook and don't plan on it. I think too many people give out way too much information on that site and really leave themselves open.

Mike.

 

[Marco Bernardini]

I've had good luck with some old gun range targets with bullet holes posted in the windows and by the door to the shop.

A friend of mine owned a jewelry shop.
I printed him some fake diplomas and rewards like "Gold Medal at the Moving Target Shooting Competition" to hang in the shop, and he never had issues.
BTW, he did his duty in the Army as waiter, so all he can threw was an empty bottle… but nobody knew that

 

[Fabrickator]

I've thought about this issue as well, but I think that it's a stretch for someone to put together a backyard video or garage pics and maybe Goggle Earth to find out where you live to rob you. Even if they found out where, they really don't know who's home or when they're coming home. As well as what to expect for security measures if they decide to hit you.

As a rule of thumb, burglars take a look for a quick and easy mark and never carry weapons. If they suspect anything at all, they just move on to the next place. They're really not going to go "Ocean's Eleven" on someone for some tooling.

Besides, they'd have a hard time getting my machinery over the 8' fence with a pit bull chewing on their leg. anic:

 

[JimDawson]

Security is always in the back of my mind. When taking pictures outside, I try to frame the shot so as not to provide any location context, and of course no GPS data embedded in the picture.

Because my son does auto repair out of my shop there is a fair amount of public traffic here, this is just a fact of life. Is there a risk? Yes, but I consider it manageable.

I am much less worried about posting on a forum like this, rather than posting on something like Facebook. I think the people who would be reading this are honest upstanding citizens. I'm pretty sure the bad guys just don't cruise the machining forums looking for places to rob.

I do have several levels of security in place, both passive and active. I am most concerned about the the random drive by crime of opportunity type. I try to keep any easy, desirable targets out of the view of the street.

 

[n3480h]

Two very large over-protective dogs, a few brass cartridge rounds on the drive, discrete security surveillance, and a well armed, very grumpy old man in residence. If they can get through all that intact, they can have whatever they take until law enforcement sees the video. "We don't call 911".

Tom

 

[TOOLMASTER]

their funeral..

 

[cjtoombs]

While there probably is some risk, there are some mitigating factors as well:

1. Some work is involved in actually linking an online photo post to a location.

2. In all likelihood, the location is not local to the thief, thus raising another hurdle. No one is going to drive 500 miles to try to case a joint out unless there is a large amount of cash or light easily convertible merchandise (jewelry).

3. Which brings us to another point, while there are small easily carried items that are somewhat valuable, most of the stuff that are worth the most money weigh more than 500 lbs, making absconding with them very difficult.

4. Some simple security measures such as locked gates, doors, nosy neighbors, dogs will also make robbing a shop more unappealing.

As has been said before, I think the people you invite into your shop are the most likely to rob you. I am very selective about who I let in, or even look into the bay door. If someone is coming over to look at something for sale, I have it outside the shop.