Home invasions are a frightening thought – the loss of hard-earned precious items coupled with the invasion of privacy is horrible, and even worse can happen in some cases.
Tragically, some home invasions include bodily harm to residents and even murder. A recent home invasion in Ascension Parish resulted in three deaths along with the robbery of cash and rare gold and silver coins.
The increase in crimes related to coins and precious metals across the country is a growing concern to law enforcement and individuals who are investing in gold and silver coins, bullion and other rare collectables.
The Better Business Bureau offers the following recommendations to keep precious valuables safe:
- Use a safe deposit box instead of an in-home safe. If a safe is used in the home, it should be heavy enough so it can’t be easily moved or secured to the floor.
- Don’t be predictable as to when you visit the bank where the safe deposit box is secured. Transport the precious metals in a neutral sealed container or briefcase.
- Be extremely careful about who you tell about your collection, its value, and its secured location.
- Check your coin and collectables coverage of your homeowner’s insurance policy. List and photograph your most valuable coins.
- Don’t store your coins and precious metals in your master bedroom or medicine cabinet. That’s often the first place thieves will look.
- Don’t leave your collection out for children, workers and others to see them. Many rare coins end up in vending machines due to the need or ignorance of others.
Other tips to prevent home robberies include:
- Don’t let newspapers collect, your grass grow high or mail and advertisements go uncollected. These are all signs that you’re “not home.”
- Have a trusted family member, friend or neighbor occasionally move any vehicles left
behind when you are out of town.
- Light up your premises at night. An illuminated property is less likely to be burglarized.
- Don’t leave empty boxes from expensive purchases, such as flat-screen televisions and computers, at the curb for trash pick-up.
- Don’t announce vacations or even wedding or funeral trips on Facebook or other social media.
- Don’t locate your security system alarm control where it is easily visible to see if it is set.
- Leave your TV or radio on when you are way from your home.
- Large and loud dogs are great deterrents to thieves.
The BBB of Acadiana works for a trustworthy marketplace by maintaining standards for truthful advertising, investigating and exposing fraud against consumers and businesses. Please contact the BBB at www.acadiana.bbb.org or (337) 981-3497 24 hours a day for information on businesses throughout North America.
The BBB of Acadiana services the parishes of Acadia, Evangeline, Iberia, Lafayette, St. Martin, St. Landry and Vermilion.
Acadiana residents can now have BBB information in the palm of their hand with the official BBB Search app, a convenient, mobile BBB solution available for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. The app can be found at: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bbb-search-find-local-businesses/id440014505?mt=8.
