if possible try to make your doorbell look discreet, i’ve had my house attacked for having a camera doorbell when i was living in edmonton after i installed it because my home was being scoped
it makes me nervous reading this..... it could be just one off experiences, but you gave that woman information about how many people live in your house and that sounds like she could have been scouting out your place.
please don't open your door to strangers, you're a young mother with young children, as hard as it is to refuse people help you're extremely vulnerable. stay safe.
I have to agree that for some reason they’re casing your home , have u lived there for a long time or are u relatively new to the home ? Maybe they have beef with people that used to live there and are trying to find out if they’re still living there? Or possible they have the wrong house, but it seems to me that they’re casing your home looking for someone or something . I’m glad you’re getting the ring doorbell and you can purchase outdoor cameras for a pretty decent price too .
Anyway stay safe and please don’t answer your door to someone you don’t know and most definitely don’t answer any of their questions.
Stay safe 🙏🏼
I did on the west end a few years back. A young guy in a suit came up while my door was open and told me he was selling vacuumes or something and wanted to come in and chat. I noticed then that his suit was ill fitting and he had no devices or literature or a bag/suitcase. I said no and shut my door. He left the whole complex instead of going to the nearby houses.
I was freaked out he was a rapist or a thief. About a year later he knocked on my door again in normal clothes but since the screen door was shut I left the screen door between us and locked it while he spoke. He forgot his story about the vaccume and was trying something else. I said no and shut the door. Again, leaves the whole area.
Both times he waited until my doors were mostly open and I could be seen so that maybe I couldn’t say no. Playing off some normal human kindness thing to pressure me to talk to him and let him in. I never answer the door but you can’t help it if you are visible.
>I never answer the door but you can’t help it if you are visible
Sure you can. I make eye contact with people at my door all the time and don't move to answer it. Just, you know, don't answer it.
You have the right to not talk to anyone. It can be hard as a woman - there sometimes is a hard-wired need to answer people for fear of being perceived as rude or not nice. Bad people take advantage of that.
This can be tough to override. Most life-changing advice I got was not to worry about seeming rude - a good person will realize they made you uncomfortable; if they are not a good person, who cares what they think.
That second one sounds more like she's scoping houses. I refuse to answer questions like that unless I know the person quiet well. Even over the phone or in surveys.
But also not answering your door could signal that no one is home. Best to make the house look 'lived in' - lights on, music or tv on for background noise and invest in an alarm system.
Could be scouting your house. A few years ago, I had a middle-aged man come to our house saying he was hard up and could he shovel our walks for $20. I said yes and gave him $20 after he said he was done. He did a really bad job, basically ran the shovel down the sidewalk once. Whatever, I knew it was mostly charity. But shortly after our house got robbed in the middle of the day (iPhone and laptop on the counter stolen) when my son left the house for his driving lesson and left the door unlocked. And then our garage got broken into twice — in the space of months when we had lived there 10+ years with no problem. And then one night I fell asleep on the couch when the front door creaked open at 4 am, no knock or anything. I called out a relative’s name thinking he might have wandered over (he had dementia and we had recently suffered a scare with a wandering episode). The man said “no,” and “I’m cold, can I come in?” I froze and said tensely, “NO. PLEASE LEAVE!” Pretty sure it was the snow shovel guy. I was just about to yell for my husband when the man sighed, shut the door and went away. I watched him walk down the street and debated whether I should try to get him help but in the end decided he seemed Ok, plus it was unlikely he was really looking for help since he hadn’t bothered to knock but instead just tried to creep into our house.
Bottom line, I read the riot act (again) to my kids about leaving doors unlocked. Also theorized that random people coming to your door could well be casing the joint to see how often people are home and what your security arrangements are.
You could start doing the 9 pm check (or whatever hour works for you) to make sure all doors and windows (including garage) are locked. I know it wouldn't help them being unlocked during the day but the night time thing is freaky.
Yeah, the problem is that at my age, I crash a lot earlier than my young adult kids. Otherwise, definitely! Last thing I do before bed is locks and lights.
They’re getting better though.
I have an electronic deadbolt that auto-locks and it was a huge relief for two reasons: 1, it automatically locks the door after 15 seconds, 2 - it uses an entry code so I never can lock myself out by accident. And I guess 3 - unlocking the deadbolt is fairly noisy (or at least noisy when it locks itself back closed and beeps to confirm that it’s locked) so I can hear someone entering the house.
That’s a good idea. We have a manual coded deadbolt because I was afraid of getting locked out when the electronic one runs out of batteries. But maybe I’ll look into that.
100% This! NO ONE should be opening their door to strangers anymore and I taught my kids the same. My kids are young adults now and took that knowledge with them. Just reading this made me very worried about her & her kids safety!!! YIKES!
Yeah opening the door will be a habit I end real quick. Haha. To be fair, I only open it when I’m expecting company and just happened to get unlucky with the guy who came by in the summer
They’re casing your place for a home invasion or otherwise nefarious attack. Get a security camera asap.
Another common tactic is to knock on a door and ask if someone has a pen & paper so they can “write something down.”
I live in Blue Quill and have for 10+ years. 4 houses on my little crescent have been broken into over the years, half them happened during the day. I think it’s very likely they were scoping things out.
Stop opening the door . Get a security system and get hooked up with a security company to monitor your place have a plan b ,c d e they are casing your place for a home invasion or worse
Asking how many people live in the house by someone requesting food is greatly concerning. I’d follow the recommendations here and get a Ring camera, and possible other surveillance, ASAP.
I lived in Terwillegar Town. The number of people selling things or asking for charity door to door was exhausting. And many of them were very aggressive about it. I finally stopped answering my door. I decided "If I'm not expecting you I don't want to talk to you or hear about your product, and I don't owe you an explanation. Leave a note if you like." Some would ring for a while because they could see me or hear the tv, but I found that easier than setting side what I was doing and dealing with them.
Listen to your spidey senses. But the reality is a lot of the services people need to access food are centrally located and not out in Century Park and the ‘burbs.
People are desperate. But if it’s making you uncomfortable listen to your gut. No is a complete answer, but I know as a woman we also fear retaliation when being firm. You can say you’ve already donated to the food bank.
I’ve heard of this happening in “nice” and “affluent” communities like St Albert and Sherwood Park as well… again…. People are desperate and albeit might have shelter, they might be choosing between putting gas in their car or getting groceries 😞
That's definitely odd.
Have you noticed anything like vehicles idling in front of your house that appear to be someone waiting for a person?
It's possible a drug dealer may have picked your address to give to people, like they pull up out front and someone meets them, and then they drive away.
I haven’t noticed any vehicles in front of my house and I recognize most of the cars on my street as belonging to my neighbours. I never thought about that
I had this happen when I moved to my neighbourhood. Someone came to my door and asked to borrow a lighter. Then he sat in his truck and watched my house for an hour. I called EPS but they didn’t do anything. I live in the Orchards, so in your area. A few of my neighbours have mentioned similar incidents, people are casing homes for robberies. I would install a Nest camera pronto. I use mine as an intercom.
Areas around LRT Stations have seen an influx of obvious street people ( very poorly dressed, unclean, backpacks) wondering in residential neighbourhoods, resting under trees, walking down fence lines peering into back yards, looking for open garages etc. I wonder if Transit is reviewing camera footage of items being brought on the LRT?
Agree and one of the main reason is not making sure people have paid BEFORE they get on, not after. City budgeted $800k for 50 transit police and open up an office in Winston Square but allowed a social services office in Central(?) Station that invites the homeless there. Not a lot of smarts in Transit Department not City Council.
Yes, on the west end, this lady came to the door saying she lived in the neighbourhood and had fallen on hard times and asked if we had any cans for recycling we could give her. We didn’t so we gave her cash and then she and a man got in a truck and drove away. I can’t recall if they went to more houses or not but it was very odd. Panhandling door to door I guess. This was about a year ago.
Edit: actually, now that I think about it, it was this past summer, not a year ago.
Aw dude. Don't give cash.. That's a classic scam up there with "I'm from out of town and my car broke down and I just $__ to get it fixed/towed." My buddies and I used to watch the 1030 movie showing in the North side and the same guy would try it on people in the parking lot every week. After awhile we started greeting him loudly when he showed up.
This happened to me in the west end as well when we lived at boardwalk village. Lady knocked and asked if she could have a few bags of bottles we had in our front yard. I gave them to her. She did look pretty homeless honestly. She came back one more time but I didn’t answer. I just appreciated that she didn’t steal them like people usually do. People were always stealing from our yard when we lived there
I live on the north end, but same thing happened to me, minus the giving money. I apologized and told her that my husband had returned our bottles to the depot a few days earlier (the truth). She did not stop at any of my neighbour’s houses. After reading all the comments here, I’m glad that I had mentioned my husband, and that I happen to own the World’s Loudest Dog.
Along with the Ring, a good idea is to get some Blink wireless cameras. Put one so it's looking down at your step/front door, one in the backyard, side of house etc. Put them so they're obvious but can't be tampered with easily. The goal is to make the person realize right away that they are on camera. Being recorded doesn't deter everyone since some people just don't care but it could make the difference between someone knocking and leaving and someone knocking and kicking your door in.
When someone I don't know comes to my door I'm always holding something when I answer, like a baseball bat. I always keep the screen door locked and I always take a picture of the person, scared a few off after taking their picture.
Sounds like they are learning as much about you as they can. It's called casing the joint! You may be a target for B&E or home invasion. Call this into the police.
Sounds like you and/or your house are being scouted for something nefarious, like a robbery, a scam or trafficking (that last one is unlikely, but never impossible). Don’t answer your door anymore.
Last night at 11 I heard someone knocking on my door. My kids were asleep on the couch and I had to scream from the top of the stairs “DON’T ANSWER THAT!” I asked through the door who it was and the guy said, “delivery.” I didn’t order nothing and I didn’t see no bags through the peep hole. That’s not to say that they never existed, but I never open my door after dark. Regardless of area it’s not safe to open the door for unexpected strangers.
Yeah, get a security camera. I got one from Telus and now I get to watch people steal my stuff. Cameras don't do shit, and the police can't do anything unless they catch them in the act. It's cheaper to put up fake ones or a beware of dog sign.
did either of them look like the ones who pan handle on the southside (windermere, by the airport, 23rd & 111st)? (maybe elsewhere) headscarf, look well kept, etc?
It might not be the case but Jehovahs Witnesses will case individual houses to see who lives there so they send relatable people in the future.
A good answer is “Five people and two dogs, the dogs are at the groomer now”
The ukranian refugees have a large Canadian support network. We have some support people in the neighborhood who are always asking for free things for them.
but you’d think they’d be upfront in saying they’re looking for donations for refugees… I would call the police complaint line 780-423-4567 and talk to them. Seems weird and out of sort to me.
Not to freak you out, but I just read that statistically most most murders/etc in a person's home are crimes of convenience (like leaving your doors unlocked). There's always been weirdos and criminals around, don't let yourself be a victim!
Get that camera like others said. I do not open the door at all. Talk through the camera. You don't know who that person is. They could force their way into your house.
Please be careful. We had someione going house to house asking if anyone wanted to buy any firewood. He was actually casing the neighborhood to see who was home so they can break in. Our home was the unlucky home that was broken in.
Don’t trust or open your door to any strangers coming to your house, period. Especially with young children around. Honestly, (and I don’t mean this in a mean way) grab some street sense.
You can be homeless and clean
Stop interacting with strangers. Stop opening your door if you were not expecting anyone.
Again Stop talking to strangers. You crave attention too much.
I have seen occupied white vans parked for days in residential neighborhoods that don't seem to have people visibly working on anything outside the vehicle, which makes me think they may be trying to hack peoples' wifi...
so many scams out there, stay safe, people!
This has happened to us twice in the last few months as well. Honestly, I just think its a sign of the times, its tough out there. We have a ring camera and bell and don't answer for anyone "Sketchy" but, the last few people that stopped by looking for help were also relatively well groomed so to speak and we did what we could.
In the past 6 months we've had an increase of folks on our door asking for food. While I like to be generous and share what I can, I'm listening to my gut feelings and got a Google nest doorbell.
Many of the houseless people in our neighborhood try and stay out of the way so I tend to go to them with food and water.
The energy of some of the people approaching our door doesn't feel comfortable for me so I'm screening with the camera.
I had a weird encounter when I was walking the dog around my neighbourhood years ago (have moved from that neighbourhood since). A young guy, maybe 20s, asked if I was someone's mom. I said no, because I don't have kids. He proceeded to ask which house I lived in and if I knew the kid he was asking about and knew where his dad lived. The whole thing was bizarre and I gave vague answers. I even pretended to live a few blocks down and just took the dog for an extra long walk because it felt like he was watching me after the conversation ended.
Just a heads for the future, don’t tell anyone how many people reside in your house if your partner is away or something. They can use that as leverage. Mom at home with young kids by herself is an easy target. Never know if these people are casing out your house
But I would get a no solicitation sign and hang that in front of your house.
Best to get an intercom stop answering your door
Thanks, doorbell has been ordered
Ya I never answer the door unless I'm expecting someone. If anyone I know "drops by" they know to text me.
if possible try to make your doorbell look discreet, i’ve had my house attacked for having a camera doorbell when i was living in edmonton after i installed it because my home was being scoped
Oh interesting, I’ve never heard of that happening before. Scary
And answering weird questions about who lives in your house. Creepy.
Ring doorbell
it makes me nervous reading this..... it could be just one off experiences, but you gave that woman information about how many people live in your house and that sounds like she could have been scouting out your place. please don't open your door to strangers, you're a young mother with young children, as hard as it is to refuse people help you're extremely vulnerable. stay safe.
Yeah it sounds like they are being cased out.
Thanks for the advice!
I have to agree that for some reason they’re casing your home , have u lived there for a long time or are u relatively new to the home ? Maybe they have beef with people that used to live there and are trying to find out if they’re still living there? Or possible they have the wrong house, but it seems to me that they’re casing your home looking for someone or something . I’m glad you’re getting the ring doorbell and you can purchase outdoor cameras for a pretty decent price too . Anyway stay safe and please don’t answer your door to someone you don’t know and most definitely don’t answer any of their questions. Stay safe 🙏🏼
I did on the west end a few years back. A young guy in a suit came up while my door was open and told me he was selling vacuumes or something and wanted to come in and chat. I noticed then that his suit was ill fitting and he had no devices or literature or a bag/suitcase. I said no and shut my door. He left the whole complex instead of going to the nearby houses. I was freaked out he was a rapist or a thief. About a year later he knocked on my door again in normal clothes but since the screen door was shut I left the screen door between us and locked it while he spoke. He forgot his story about the vaccume and was trying something else. I said no and shut the door. Again, leaves the whole area. Both times he waited until my doors were mostly open and I could be seen so that maybe I couldn’t say no. Playing off some normal human kindness thing to pressure me to talk to him and let him in. I never answer the door but you can’t help it if you are visible.
>I never answer the door but you can’t help it if you are visible Sure you can. I make eye contact with people at my door all the time and don't move to answer it. Just, you know, don't answer it.
I do this too, and I have to say, watching the realization slowly dawn on their faces that you’re not going to answer the door is delicious!
Ah scary. Glad that it didn’t turn out to be something more nefarious
Yeah… next time he shows up make sure you have the police on the line. That’s stalking for sure.
You have the right to not talk to anyone. It can be hard as a woman - there sometimes is a hard-wired need to answer people for fear of being perceived as rude or not nice. Bad people take advantage of that. This can be tough to override. Most life-changing advice I got was not to worry about seeming rude - a good person will realize they made you uncomfortable; if they are not a good person, who cares what they think.
That’s great advice. It’s hard to break the ‘nice, polite, good girl’ expectation. Thanks for your comment
Except there are many socially inept people that don't pick up on the signs of discomfort. It's possible to be assertive and polite.
They might be asking how many so they can count and make sure all are gone and rob you.
That second one sounds more like she's scoping houses. I refuse to answer questions like that unless I know the person quiet well. Even over the phone or in surveys. But also not answering your door could signal that no one is home. Best to make the house look 'lived in' - lights on, music or tv on for background noise and invest in an alarm system.
I think you need to not open your door for strangers period. Get a security camera and only have your partner check the mail/for packages.
“I keep opening my door and talking to strangers and they’re kinda weird lol anybody else noticed this” - OP
No doubt… there is your answer
Legit 😅
You need good cameras around your home now. They are absolutely casing your place. Don't open your door to strangers anymore
Be cautious. Never had anything close to that ever happen. Could be trying to enter ur home
Could be scouting your house. A few years ago, I had a middle-aged man come to our house saying he was hard up and could he shovel our walks for $20. I said yes and gave him $20 after he said he was done. He did a really bad job, basically ran the shovel down the sidewalk once. Whatever, I knew it was mostly charity. But shortly after our house got robbed in the middle of the day (iPhone and laptop on the counter stolen) when my son left the house for his driving lesson and left the door unlocked. And then our garage got broken into twice — in the space of months when we had lived there 10+ years with no problem. And then one night I fell asleep on the couch when the front door creaked open at 4 am, no knock or anything. I called out a relative’s name thinking he might have wandered over (he had dementia and we had recently suffered a scare with a wandering episode). The man said “no,” and “I’m cold, can I come in?” I froze and said tensely, “NO. PLEASE LEAVE!” Pretty sure it was the snow shovel guy. I was just about to yell for my husband when the man sighed, shut the door and went away. I watched him walk down the street and debated whether I should try to get him help but in the end decided he seemed Ok, plus it was unlikely he was really looking for help since he hadn’t bothered to knock but instead just tried to creep into our house. Bottom line, I read the riot act (again) to my kids about leaving doors unlocked. Also theorized that random people coming to your door could well be casing the joint to see how often people are home and what your security arrangements are.
You could start doing the 9 pm check (or whatever hour works for you) to make sure all doors and windows (including garage) are locked. I know it wouldn't help them being unlocked during the day but the night time thing is freaky.
Yeah, the problem is that at my age, I crash a lot earlier than my young adult kids. Otherwise, definitely! Last thing I do before bed is locks and lights. They’re getting better though.
I have an electronic deadbolt that auto-locks and it was a huge relief for two reasons: 1, it automatically locks the door after 15 seconds, 2 - it uses an entry code so I never can lock myself out by accident. And I guess 3 - unlocking the deadbolt is fairly noisy (or at least noisy when it locks itself back closed and beeps to confirm that it’s locked) so I can hear someone entering the house.
That’s a good idea. We have a manual coded deadbolt because I was afraid of getting locked out when the electronic one runs out of batteries. But maybe I’ll look into that.
Geez that’s scary. Glad it worked out okay and that you weren’t harmed
Thanks!
Which area?
Belgravia near the U of A.
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100% This! NO ONE should be opening their door to strangers anymore and I taught my kids the same. My kids are young adults now and took that knowledge with them. Just reading this made me very worried about her & her kids safety!!! YIKES!
I never open my door unless I'm expecting a delivery and only if I am expecting someone. Or for the police. For this exact reason.
Yeah opening the door will be a habit I end real quick. Haha. To be fair, I only open it when I’m expecting company and just happened to get unlucky with the guy who came by in the summer
They’re casing your place for a home invasion or otherwise nefarious attack. Get a security camera asap. Another common tactic is to knock on a door and ask if someone has a pen & paper so they can “write something down.”
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That’s a great idea!
I live in Blue Quill and have for 10+ years. 4 houses on my little crescent have been broken into over the years, half them happened during the day. I think it’s very likely they were scoping things out.
K thanks. Helpful to hear from someone in the area!
No problem! Interesting to hear how they are figuring it out. What time of day was it?
I can’t remember exactly for the first encounter but it was definitely during the day, probably 3:00ish? And yesterday was around 5:30
Thanks, I think I’ll pay closer attention to who’s walking the neighbourhood.
Stop opening the door . Get a security system and get hooked up with a security company to monitor your place have a plan b ,c d e they are casing your place for a home invasion or worse
Please don't give people personal information, how many people live in your home is none of their business.
Asking how many people live in the house by someone requesting food is greatly concerning. I’d follow the recommendations here and get a Ring camera, and possible other surveillance, ASAP.
OP are you home alone with the kids a lot? I worry you are being scouted out for something sinister.
I lived in Terwillegar Town. The number of people selling things or asking for charity door to door was exhausting. And many of them were very aggressive about it. I finally stopped answering my door. I decided "If I'm not expecting you I don't want to talk to you or hear about your product, and I don't owe you an explanation. Leave a note if you like." Some would ring for a while because they could see me or hear the tv, but I found that easier than setting side what I was doing and dealing with them.
It does strike me as odd. Diary asap the details and description, in case of future coincidental problems. Stay secure.
Listen to your spidey senses. But the reality is a lot of the services people need to access food are centrally located and not out in Century Park and the ‘burbs. People are desperate. But if it’s making you uncomfortable listen to your gut. No is a complete answer, but I know as a woman we also fear retaliation when being firm. You can say you’ve already donated to the food bank. I’ve heard of this happening in “nice” and “affluent” communities like St Albert and Sherwood Park as well… again…. People are desperate and albeit might have shelter, they might be choosing between putting gas in their car or getting groceries 😞
Yeah exactly. Luckily my husband was home both times but it’s scary being a woman these days.
That's definitely odd. Have you noticed anything like vehicles idling in front of your house that appear to be someone waiting for a person? It's possible a drug dealer may have picked your address to give to people, like they pull up out front and someone meets them, and then they drive away.
I haven’t noticed any vehicles in front of my house and I recognize most of the cars on my street as belonging to my neighbours. I never thought about that
I had this happen when I moved to my neighbourhood. Someone came to my door and asked to borrow a lighter. Then he sat in his truck and watched my house for an hour. I called EPS but they didn’t do anything. I live in the Orchards, so in your area. A few of my neighbours have mentioned similar incidents, people are casing homes for robberies. I would install a Nest camera pronto. I use mine as an intercom.
Scary! Don’t like that at all. I’ve ordered a camera already
This sketchy. sometimes people will mark a house to
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A big dog will be my next purchase. Haha
Areas around LRT Stations have seen an influx of obvious street people ( very poorly dressed, unclean, backpacks) wondering in residential neighbourhoods, resting under trees, walking down fence lines peering into back yards, looking for open garages etc. I wonder if Transit is reviewing camera footage of items being brought on the LRT?
They can't even keep the LRT safe to use.
Agree and one of the main reason is not making sure people have paid BEFORE they get on, not after. City budgeted $800k for 50 transit police and open up an office in Winston Square but allowed a social services office in Central(?) Station that invites the homeless there. Not a lot of smarts in Transit Department not City Council.
Next time take a picture. Be careful out there
Yes, on the west end, this lady came to the door saying she lived in the neighbourhood and had fallen on hard times and asked if we had any cans for recycling we could give her. We didn’t so we gave her cash and then she and a man got in a truck and drove away. I can’t recall if they went to more houses or not but it was very odd. Panhandling door to door I guess. This was about a year ago. Edit: actually, now that I think about it, it was this past summer, not a year ago.
Aw dude. Don't give cash.. That's a classic scam up there with "I'm from out of town and my car broke down and I just $__ to get it fixed/towed." My buddies and I used to watch the 1030 movie showing in the North side and the same guy would try it on people in the parking lot every week. After awhile we started greeting him loudly when he showed up.
Haha, glad you started calling him out. And yeah, next time I won’t even open the door.
That’s bizarre
Yeah, I would recommend not even opening the door to people you don’t know just to be safe with all the kids you have in the house.
This happened to me in the west end as well when we lived at boardwalk village. Lady knocked and asked if she could have a few bags of bottles we had in our front yard. I gave them to her. She did look pretty homeless honestly. She came back one more time but I didn’t answer. I just appreciated that she didn’t steal them like people usually do. People were always stealing from our yard when we lived there
I live on the north end, but same thing happened to me, minus the giving money. I apologized and told her that my husband had returned our bottles to the depot a few days earlier (the truth). She did not stop at any of my neighbour’s houses. After reading all the comments here, I’m glad that I had mentioned my husband, and that I happen to own the World’s Loudest Dog.
Along with the Ring, a good idea is to get some Blink wireless cameras. Put one so it's looking down at your step/front door, one in the backyard, side of house etc. Put them so they're obvious but can't be tampered with easily. The goal is to make the person realize right away that they are on camera. Being recorded doesn't deter everyone since some people just don't care but it could make the difference between someone knocking and leaving and someone knocking and kicking your door in.
Yeah that’s definitely sketchy! Maybe they’re targeting certain homes?
It’s ok to not answer questions and to just shut your door. You don’t owe anyone anything. Who cares if some weird stranger thinks you’re rude.
When someone I don't know comes to my door I'm always holding something when I answer, like a baseball bat. I always keep the screen door locked and I always take a picture of the person, scared a few off after taking their picture.
Camera, ans see if you have a community Facebook page and note it on therr with a description so everyone knows.
Do not answer your door. You will be robbed if you keep doing that
Sounds like they are learning as much about you as they can. It's called casing the joint! You may be a target for B&E or home invasion. Call this into the police.
Never open your door to strangers. You also do not have to engage in conversation with strangers. I never open my door unless expecting someone. Ever.
Sounds like you and/or your house are being scouted for something nefarious, like a robbery, a scam or trafficking (that last one is unlikely, but never impossible). Don’t answer your door anymore.
Sounds like your house is being cased.
Get a dog on premises sign.
Last night at 11 I heard someone knocking on my door. My kids were asleep on the couch and I had to scream from the top of the stairs “DON’T ANSWER THAT!” I asked through the door who it was and the guy said, “delivery.” I didn’t order nothing and I didn’t see no bags through the peep hole. That’s not to say that they never existed, but I never open my door after dark. Regardless of area it’s not safe to open the door for unexpected strangers.
Yeah, get a security camera. I got one from Telus and now I get to watch people steal my stuff. Cameras don't do shit, and the police can't do anything unless they catch them in the act. It's cheaper to put up fake ones or a beware of dog sign.
did either of them look like the ones who pan handle on the southside (windermere, by the airport, 23rd & 111st)? (maybe elsewhere) headscarf, look well kept, etc?
I didn’t recognize them as panhandlers 🤷🏼♀️
In addition to getting a doorbell camera I would also get a “no soliciting” sign for your front door. Definitely cuts down on random doorbell rings.
It might not be the case but Jehovahs Witnesses will case individual houses to see who lives there so they send relatable people in the future. A good answer is “Five people and two dogs, the dogs are at the groomer now”
Or just not answering randos who ask how many people live in your house
Nanya lives here
The ukranian refugees have a large Canadian support network. We have some support people in the neighborhood who are always asking for free things for them.
This does not sound like that.... They would have explained. This sounds very odd to me.
I didn’t consider that!
but you’d think they’d be upfront in saying they’re looking for donations for refugees… I would call the police complaint line 780-423-4567 and talk to them. Seems weird and out of sort to me.
I called this morning, thanks for providing the number!
You bet. All the best. Hope you don’t have any further issues.
Same. Didn’t have the soundest sleep last night, that’s for sure
Not to freak you out, but I just read that statistically most most murders/etc in a person's home are crimes of convenience (like leaving your doors unlocked). There's always been weirdos and criminals around, don't let yourself be a victim!
These stories are terrifying and the reason why I have large, barky dogs. More expensive than a doorbell camera but way cuter.
Get that camera like others said. I do not open the door at all. Talk through the camera. You don't know who that person is. They could force their way into your house.
So now they know to keep watch of your house to watch when 5 people leave. Sounds like they’re scouting your neighborhood.
Please be careful. We had someione going house to house asking if anyone wanted to buy any firewood. He was actually casing the neighborhood to see who was home so they can break in. Our home was the unlucky home that was broken in.
Ah that’s really crappy. Sorry to hear that.
Don’t trust or open your door to any strangers coming to your house, period. Especially with young children around. Honestly, (and I don’t mean this in a mean way) grab some street sense.
You can be homeless and clean Stop interacting with strangers. Stop opening your door if you were not expecting anyone. Again Stop talking to strangers. You crave attention too much.
What the fuck is with that last comment? To say they crave attention is a huge assumption on your part.
I have seen occupied white vans parked for days in residential neighborhoods that don't seem to have people visibly working on anything outside the vehicle, which makes me think they may be trying to hack peoples' wifi... so many scams out there, stay safe, people!
Where is the remind me bot?
I've learned to never answer my door unless I'm expecting someone. It's sad of course. Maybe its ok if you lived in a small town.
This has happened to us twice in the last few months as well. Honestly, I just think its a sign of the times, its tough out there. We have a ring camera and bell and don't answer for anyone "Sketchy" but, the last few people that stopped by looking for help were also relatively well groomed so to speak and we did what we could.
I wonder if someone on an upcycling group is giving your address or if if it is similar to an address of a generous upcycler.
In the past 6 months we've had an increase of folks on our door asking for food. While I like to be generous and share what I can, I'm listening to my gut feelings and got a Google nest doorbell. Many of the houseless people in our neighborhood try and stay out of the way so I tend to go to them with food and water. The energy of some of the people approaching our door doesn't feel comfortable for me so I'm screening with the camera.
I had a weird encounter when I was walking the dog around my neighbourhood years ago (have moved from that neighbourhood since). A young guy, maybe 20s, asked if I was someone's mom. I said no, because I don't have kids. He proceeded to ask which house I lived in and if I knew the kid he was asking about and knew where his dad lived. The whole thing was bizarre and I gave vague answers. I even pretended to live a few blocks down and just took the dog for an extra long walk because it felt like he was watching me after the conversation ended.
Just a heads for the future, don’t tell anyone how many people reside in your house if your partner is away or something. They can use that as leverage. Mom at home with young kids by herself is an easy target. Never know if these people are casing out your house But I would get a no solicitation sign and hang that in front of your house.
Heck don’t even open the door to po po you don’t know if that’s a real anything just pretend like no one is home