Tape over a keyhole could be a big indication that your home is set to be ransacked by burglars.
The secret sticky tape trick burglars use when looking for a house to target was recently brought up on Quora by some questioning why transparent tape on a lock is a ‘bad sign.’
‘It’s a trick used by thieves,’ Quora user José Alberto explained last June.
‘They place a piece of adhesive tape on the lock of a house or apartment and return a day (or more) later to see if the tape is still intact,’ he added.
The good news is there is a way to prevent this trick from working – remove the tape.
A sticky tape trick on the keyhole of a doorknob has become a growing trend done by home burglars worldwide
Social media users explained the meaning behind the sticky tape trick and how burglars use it to know what houses are okay or not okay to rob
Dan Coleman (top), a home security expert, issued a warning on the sticky tape trick as discussed by TikTok user Matt Theriault (bottom)
Matt Theriault recently discussed the sticky tape trick in a TikTok video and shared a warning from home security expert Dan Coleman about the growth in the method’s popularity.
‘This sticky situation might seem like some harmless prank by neighborhood kids with nothing better to do,’ Theriault stated.
‘However, Coleman says it’s a tactic growing in its popularity.’
From there, Theriault states Coleman suggests residents ‘remove the tape from their locks immediately.
People who insist on remaining cautious after seeing tape on their doorknob should check for signs of forced entry and see if anything from their home is missing.
If there is a possibility that a house has been burglarized, the homeowner should call the police immediately.
Users on social media also suggested that people should pay for a home security system.
‘It’s time to put a security camera right there where the thieves can see it, remove all valuables and booby trap the place,’ John W. insisted on Quora.
Not all Quora users are convinced that the sticky tape trick is real, and some have even said it is nothing but a myth.
‘It’s an internet myth that someone is checking if the house is occupied,’ wrote Quora user Arthur Loaf.
He continued: ‘It’s unlikely this would happen in real life as there would be no need to cover the lock and alert the property owner, a small bit hidden away at the edge of the door frame would do the same trick and you’d never see it.’
Another Quora user, Kevin Hurley, commented: ‘This is just morons on the internet thinking they are experts. No one does this. This would be a STUPID way to scope out a home.’
Hurley also wrote burglars ‘don’t put cryptic markings on mailboxes or curbs,’ and that everything is ‘made up out of thin air by morons on the internet.’
Reports of sticky tape on keyholes have been noted Queens, New York, in 2014 and Dublin, Ireland, in 2018
People on Quora have both supported and doubted the sticky tape on a keyhole trick, some people even calling it an ‘internet myth’
These incidents have occurred in the past to burglary victims, but Tracee Carrasco from Queens, New York, was able to notice a piece of black electrical tape on her doorknob almost immediately in 2014.
‘The first initial (thought) was, What the heck is it?’ she told CBS News New York.
‘And then I said, “You know what? Tape. Could that be someone that’s marking the house?”’ she added.
Multiple residences in Dublin, Ireland, were also targeted in 2018, leading to police to call for caution.
They were advised to remove the tape as soon as possible, and suggested to purchase security alarms and secure locks and windows.