From Brian Willoughby Sent Sun, Feb 3rd 2019, 00:49
From Brian Willoughby Sent Sun, Feb 3rd 2019, 00:49
I suffered theft from a storage unit - probably about $10,000 worth of = music electronics in total, new and used. I picked the particular = location based on price alone, with little experience on the factors = that separate a secure storage facility from a shack. The building = holding my unit had no cameras in the hallway. All buildings were = located within a gated perimeter with cameras on the entry/exit. Access = codes were only available to tenants. Unfortunately, the company had a = promotion where anyone could sign up for a new unit for $1 for the first = month. After having my gear stolen, I realized that would-be thieves = could basically buy access codes for $1. The video camera on the access = gate was so poor that license plate numbers cannot be read on the = vehicles passing through. The locks sold by the storage company were so = cheap that thirteen units had their locks cut in a single pass. My lock = is carbon steel, and survived the lock cutter, but the thieves simply = cut the hasp that latched the door. They may have taken a week to move = all of the stolen goods out of the thirteen units, but since people = rarely visit their units, and because patrol staff didn=E2=80=99t notice = any doors left open, a lot went missing before the company contacted all = of the victims so they could secure what remained. In my case, the local = police told me that thefts were quite common at that particular = location. My lessons included not selecting storage based on price, but on = security features. Also, not all cameras are created equally. In = additional, it=E2=80=99s worth checking police records to identify areas = notorious for property theft. In the Seattle area, assault is rare, but = property crimes are rampant and laws remain largely unenforced. Do not = turn your back for a second on your property. I=E2=80=99ve also learned a few things from friends who suffered losses = of valuables in their home. Most importantly, do not leave valuables = near windows where they are visible to outsiders. Even if a would-be = thief has to be quite bold to walk up to a window to get a peek, they = will find the opportunity. Once a space is broken in to, the thieves do = not spend much time at all searching inside. They will pretty much take = only what was visible, and what they already planned on transporting in = advance. The risk is real-time confrontation, and so they avoid that at = all costs. Another friend was moving, and had packed his entire home recording = studio into a moving van. Unfortunately, he left the keys in the = vehicle, which was then stolen from directly in front of his (now = former) home. The rental agency eventually recovered their van, but his = studio equipment was long gone. Lesson: Do not trust that you can leave = your belongings unguarded for even a second. There are probably a hundred other ways to get ripped off. Look at = police incident records and study the details. Talk to your local police = officers and ask for advice. Sometimes, they=E2=80=99ll recommend = against a car alarm, simply because they don=E2=80=99t want the hassle = when you go on vacation and the wind sets off the motion alarm. But they = might still have some decent advice. Look for the pawn division if you = want specific advice regarding the kind of theft loss you might actually = experience. Seattle has a police department dedicated to cracking down = on break-ins where property ends up in local pawn shops. Unfortunately, = thieves are smart enough to steal in Bellevue and sell in North Seattle, = rather than keeping their crimes entirely within one division. Also = unfortunate is the fact that Seattle PD couldn=E2=80=99t help with my = Bellevue Police Report when it ended up that my electronics went on sale = in a Seattle pawn shop. I had to buy my gear back after it had been sold = on eBay twice! Brian On Feb 2, 2019, at 4:30 PM, Eric Wood <xxxx.xxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx> wrote: > How is it people are getting their gear stolen so often? Break ins = because thieves found out what you had? Stolen from gigs? I=E2=80=99d = like to hear those stories so I can try and be safer with my precious = gear. I acquiring quite a collection and this kind of scares me. I=E2=80=99= m considering getting an alarm service installed but I=E2=80=99m not = sure it=E2=80=99s worth it or not. > Eric >=20 > On Jan 30, 2019, at 11:41 AM, DJ Maytag <xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx> wrote: >> It=E2=80=99s a unique system, one that=E2=80=99s easily identifiable, = so I can confirm Ryan=E2=80=99s claim. I=E2=80=99ve got the original = system and can compare it to what the new owner has.=20 >> On Wed, Jan 30, 2019 at 11:39 AM Ryan L <xxxxxxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx> wrote: >>> I know a lot of people would like to keep anonymity in the synth = world who have larger systems. >>>=20 >>> But I just noticed someone on facebook posted pictures of a modular = system which I know for a fact is stolen. =20 >>>=20 >>> That system is worth a lot of money, and I'm sure it was gotten for = a "bargain price" as it "fell off the back of a truck" >>>=20 >>> Would it be wise now with some analogs being worth SO much money to = start a registry of owners? Perhaps private serials/etc. This way when = we buy a vintage we know that the owner is legit? It is such a small = community it might be easy to maintain that database, and also keep it = private. With a request..." is this the owner" and if yes...go... or = some SQL type thingie. (is SQL still a thing? lol) >>>=20 >>> I've gotten ripped off a few times before, and saw the guy try to = resell it, and with so many avenues to resell I'm sure it got resold = without me knowing. Before it was a tight knit community where everyone = kinda knew whose system was whose. =20 >>=20