News1 min ago
Watch Your Keys
18 Answers
I am not sure if this counts as a scam or not but it is best to warn people.
One of my female neighbours had their car stolen off their drive the other night.
The lady had come home from work, dropped her handbag in the hall, then gone to bed leaving the handbag in the hall.
During the night someone "fished" her handbag through the letter box and took out her car keys and stole the car.
So not only has she lost her car and had to claim on the insurance but also she has had to get all the locks changed on her house.
She also owns a nearby business and has had to get all the locks changed on that as well.
So leaving your keys in your hall could cause you a lot of inconvenience and cost.
One of my female neighbours had their car stolen off their drive the other night.
The lady had come home from work, dropped her handbag in the hall, then gone to bed leaving the handbag in the hall.
During the night someone "fished" her handbag through the letter box and took out her car keys and stole the car.
So not only has she lost her car and had to claim on the insurance but also she has had to get all the locks changed on her house.
She also owns a nearby business and has had to get all the locks changed on that as well.
So leaving your keys in your hall could cause you a lot of inconvenience and cost.
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For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.It seems a pretty unlikely story. I have enough problem finding my own keys in my bag. How would anyone know that the keys were in the bag? That the bag could be reached in such a way?
I know that anything is possible - but isn't it more likely that she dropped her keys outside? How would she know that someone had fished her keys out of her bag?
I know that anything is possible - but isn't it more likely that she dropped her keys outside? How would she know that someone had fished her keys out of her bag?
-- answer removed --
The OP does say it was the handbag that was fished. Maybe the keys dropped out and they retried.
Yes it is a well known practice. Don't have key holders/hooks in the hall, or leave things on a hall table. Probably risky to even have coats with pockets in range, I'd have thought; but maybe the time taken to get stuff from coats means no one would bother ?
Yes it is a well known practice. Don't have key holders/hooks in the hall, or leave things on a hall table. Probably risky to even have coats with pockets in range, I'd have thought; but maybe the time taken to get stuff from coats means no one would bother ?
Hands up ! how many of you leave your keys on the hall table? (mine's up)
also worse, my front door is also seldom locked though in my defense the car is in a garage. I've heard of this for a long time and even if your car is left on the street, the burglar only has to point the key at a row of cars to find the right one.
NJ. I think there are two different crimes, am I right? one is entering and the other is breaking and entering. Using a fishing rod through a letter box would appear to be neither .
also worse, my front door is also seldom locked though in my defense the car is in a garage. I've heard of this for a long time and even if your car is left on the street, the burglar only has to point the key at a row of cars to find the right one.
NJ. I think there are two different crimes, am I right? one is entering and the other is breaking and entering. Using a fishing rod through a letter box would appear to be neither .
Best advice I heard was: 'Leave your keys well away from the door/ window/ letterbox so they can't be 'fished', BUT do leave them somewhere downstairs on the side where they are easily seen by someone inside the house - if someone breaks in, they are more likely to take the keys and leave, than come upstairs to find something else'
Sorry to hear about your friends bad luck VHG :-(
Sorry to hear about your friends bad luck VHG :-(
Some people who have commented above wonder if this really happened and perhaps she just dropped her car keys outside.
Well I just did a search on "car keys fishing" and found dozens of hits so it is very common.
Here is just one selected at random
http:// www.eve ningtim es.co.u k/news/ 1327176 2.Thiev es_use_ fishing _rod_to _steal_ car_key s/
Well I just did a search on "car keys fishing" and found dozens of hits so it is very common.
Here is just one selected at random
http://
I believe this is possible and quite prevalent. I remember doing this myself several times when I was a teenager to arrive back home and find myself locked out. I used to go and get a garden cane, put it through the letter box, hook my mother's handbag, slide it down the cane, pick her keys out and let myself in.......(I lived there so there was no crime, but this is how easy it was).