ALERT....huge, huge BB card collection theft....UPDATED

[tedzan]

The thefts are occuring in OTSEGO County (the surrounding Cooperstown area)

[glchen]

FYI, about the 2nd floor burglary, I don't think it's that uncommon. I live in a new development, where the houses were wired for security only on the first floor, by default. Homeowners would have to pay additional fees to wire the 2nd floor. Therefore, when we talked to the developer, they still advised us to wire the 2nd floor for security for those windows that would have easy access to the ground level (i.e., not beside a steep roof). We ended up wiring all windows for security, but I think that this would be general knowledge for burglars.

In addition, I have been burglarized once when I lived in an apartment a while ago. I lived in on the 4th floor, but beside the elevator. You need a code to enter the apartment building, but the burglar got in. Unfortunately, I did not have deadbolt on my door, and the burglar was able to use a crowbar to get in. No one else on the floor saw what happened, and the police never found the burglar. The burglars didn't take much, just a nice camera and a computer monitor. (They did look under my mattress.) The sliding door to the deck/fire escape was open, but the police said they opened that just to make it seem like they went through the fire escape, but most likely came and went through the front door. The burglar did try a couple of other apartments, but I think my door was the easiest one to open. I think the burglar came and left really quickly.

A lot of these guys have done this many, many times. They find a potential house to burglarize. Try the easiest, non-obvious way in with less likely security (like a second floor), look for valuable items, and then leave quickly. They probably go more for looking for anything that looks expensive, and probably have a decent idea of what stolen items have gotten good resale value in the past.