Get rid of your household waste correctly or risk falling prey to thieves

DID you know that thieves are lurking in your community, scanning your household dirt when you put your bins out on bin collection days?

After noticing an increase in house break-ins occurring on the day which DSW workers collect dirt, security company, Fidelity ADT, is urging residents to be mindful of what they throw away and how they dispose of household rubbish.

Charnel Hattingh, head of marketing and communications at Fidelity Services Group, said, “We have received information of break-ins that have occurred within a day of bin bags being placed outside for collection. Not all rubbish bag diggers are as innocent as they appear. Would-be thieves may rummage through rubbish to gain information about households before planning a break-in.

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“Make a conscious effort not to leave empty boxes or packaging on your pavement or verge alongside rubbish bins. This is a dead give-away of newly bought items such as home theatre systems, TVs, computers, etc. Avoid tempting thieves and rather flatten such boxes and conceal or recycle it,” said Hattingh.

Additional information received by the company indicates that suspects also look for medication containers and boxes, particularly the packaging of sleep inducing medication.

“Residents are urged to remove labels and information displayed on medicine containers before discarding them. Be aware of what you dispose of as you may be providing criminals with a ‘shopping list’. Be cautious of what you throw away, remain vigilant and do not leave anything to chance,” added Hattingh.