Baph
29-09-06, 09:50 AM
So just before bed, the Mrs turns to me last night with the words "Oh, I think we might have a problem."
Turns out whilst I was at work yesterday, and she was trying to get the lil lad to sleep, two guys came a knocking on the door. She was a bit flustered having to deal with our lil one whilst doing stuff & answering the door. Apparently they were wearing high-vis vests, said they were from Welsh Water and were testing the drains, could they go round the back?
As she was flustered, she just told them to go ahead, the side gate was open, and so they did. Jug of water in hand. Apparently they lifted the manhole cover we have in the back garden, had a fiddle around, and left.
After they left, the Mrs noticed that the metal shed (where the SV is usually parked) was left with the padlock half off (I know it wasn't left like this when I left for work, but it also wasn't locked, it just looked like it was to a casual glance), and a few other oddities in & around the back garden.
Today, she's going to call Welsh Water to try & confirm if they have indeed been sending folks out to test/survey drains, and ask the neighbours if they had the same visit.
Personally, I'm working on the assumption that they were casing the place to come back & pay a visit when we're not home. On that basis, my friend (who happens to own a Security Consultancy company) is fitting an alarm to my house as we speak. Since he's a friend it's a good system that I've asked him to put in, daylight cameras, night cameras, PIRs, magentic trip sensors, proximity keyfobs with panic etc etc. Over the weekend this will be linked via serial (RS232C for the geek contingent) to a GSM module, and the t'Inter-web (meaning I can then control the alarm/see the f*****s live) and I'll be laying down some QTC to act as perimeter triggers.
So, from next week, I'll be living in Fort Knox, but that's better than the bar stewards having off with the SV, or worse, getting into the house.
Just figured I'd let you folks of the .org know about the potential scam, and the moral I suppose is to always ALWAYS ask for ID if a contractor is on your property without you previously requesting them.
Turns out whilst I was at work yesterday, and she was trying to get the lil lad to sleep, two guys came a knocking on the door. She was a bit flustered having to deal with our lil one whilst doing stuff & answering the door. Apparently they were wearing high-vis vests, said they were from Welsh Water and were testing the drains, could they go round the back?
As she was flustered, she just told them to go ahead, the side gate was open, and so they did. Jug of water in hand. Apparently they lifted the manhole cover we have in the back garden, had a fiddle around, and left.
After they left, the Mrs noticed that the metal shed (where the SV is usually parked) was left with the padlock half off (I know it wasn't left like this when I left for work, but it also wasn't locked, it just looked like it was to a casual glance), and a few other oddities in & around the back garden.
Today, she's going to call Welsh Water to try & confirm if they have indeed been sending folks out to test/survey drains, and ask the neighbours if they had the same visit.
Personally, I'm working on the assumption that they were casing the place to come back & pay a visit when we're not home. On that basis, my friend (who happens to own a Security Consultancy company) is fitting an alarm to my house as we speak. Since he's a friend it's a good system that I've asked him to put in, daylight cameras, night cameras, PIRs, magentic trip sensors, proximity keyfobs with panic etc etc. Over the weekend this will be linked via serial (RS232C for the geek contingent) to a GSM module, and the t'Inter-web (meaning I can then control the alarm/see the f*****s live) and I'll be laying down some QTC to act as perimeter triggers.
So, from next week, I'll be living in Fort Knox, but that's better than the bar stewards having off with the SV, or worse, getting into the house.
Just figured I'd let you folks of the .org know about the potential scam, and the moral I suppose is to always ALWAYS ask for ID if a contractor is on your property without you previously requesting them.