Two men going through my neighbor's trash just now

[TheGoodTexan]

I'm home sick today - got a bad lung/sinus infection. The wife is at work.

I'm sitting here watching TV, playing a game on the laptop, the dog is laying in the floor at my feet, asleep. Then I hear what sounds like a car pulling up into my drive way. It got the dog's attention, as he gave one of those muffled grunt/barks meant to show concern.

I didn't much care about it, thinking that it might just be someone turning around, until I started hearing voices talking from what seemed to be my front yard.

So I got up and looked out the window. There was a mid-90s Honda Civic, not parked in my driveway, but parked in the street in front of my house, and two clean cut, middle-aged guys in jeans and hoodies were walking across my yard, toward my neighbor's house. They went directly to the trash cans and began rummaging through it. They pulled out several things and then walked back to their car and drove away.

???

These neighbors are a retired couple that run a ice cream shop in town. I think that it's legal here to go through someone's trash, as it is considered "abandoned" once you place it at the curb for pickup. I could not tell what it was that these guys carried away, but they didn't stay there for more than about 30 seconds. They did not carry away full bags of trash, but some sort of belongings maybe? When the neighbors get home later I'll let them know.

Odd.

[stnmtthw]

Sometimes identity thieves will go through garbage looking for account numbers and such. Or they could just be looking for cans to recycle for a few extra bucks. I have a neighbor that does that, so I just started bagging my cans seperately and giving them to him.

[Brad Pittiful]

yeah identity thieves...better let them know what happened so they can do a preemptive changing of bank info and credit cards...not sure what they can do for the soc sec #s

[1962guitargeek]

Originally Posted by Brad Pittiful

yeah identity thieves...better let them know what happened so they can do a preemptive changing of bank info and credit cards...not sure what they can do for the soc sec #s

this^^

also, home invaders dig through trash looking for anything that may be of value in the home...

[6942]

IF....you ever see them again.....call the cops.

[JayBeezy42]

I've heard the thing about garbage no longer being your property, but I'm not sure that it applies unless your cans are out on the street.

Honestly, if they came and went that quickly, it almost seems to me that they might be friends/relations of your neighbors that were looking for something specifically that they threw out by mistake. Yeah, identity theft happens, but it's extremely blown out of proportion by the media and most people don't understand that it is usually done via social engineering.

[CrisHendrix]

This has to be the most paranoid forum I've ever visited, lol.

[brookdalebill]

Identity thieves, or PI's, maybe even law enforcement of some kind.
I'd tell your neighbors, and maybe the cops.
Did you get a license plate, description of the vehicle/guys?

[sir humphrey]

Originally Posted by CrisHendrix

This has to be the most paranoid forum I've ever visited, lol.

You noticed that too then.

[Triton Thrasher]

Secret agents.

[jimd]

I have seen people pick up large items siting at the curb. This is mostly something they can fix or sell for scrap. I've never seen anyone rummaging through someone's trash cans. That is a little suspicious.

[1962guitargeek]

...just because we're paranoid...










doesn't make us wrong...




seriously, with the recycling programs in place these days chances it was a phishing expedition are pretty good...

I imagine if it were a law enforcement issue they would just dump it and go through it...

I KNOW around here leaving boxes that big ticket items come in are best not left on the curb. I take ours straight to the transfer station for recycling.

I prefer to think of myself as ...cautious...

[BigDaddyLH]

Originally Posted by CrisHendrix

This has to be the most paranoid forum I've ever visited, lol.

But are we paranoid enough?

[Toto'sDad]

You said you could hear them talking. Were they just talking trash?

[Big John Studd]

Originally Posted by TheGoodTexan

Odd.

It could be different everywhere, but the police in my town say if you see something odd to go ahead and give them a call, and they will sort it out. I saw some hoodies on my street a few months ago. I should have called it in because as it turned out several homes/vehicles were robbed that night.

[clayfeat]

Plan on telling the neighbors?

[Blackie]

I have a camera on my truck and it views the garbage cans as well as the area and is always recording.

The police would take all the garbage if it was serious.

[Skully]

IF....you ever see them again.....call the cops.

They can't park in your driveway, but it's legal for them to go through the trash.

[purpletele]

Your local police should have a non emergency number. Call it and report it I say.

If it's just some guys looking for recycle or treasures no big deal, they get to keep it up. If it's sketchy then you may have helped some of your neighbors from a world of awful. The only thing you really have to worry about is living with the fact that you may kind of be a cool and decent human being for thinking about the welfare of your neighbors.

If I were digging through trash without asking, not just picking up obvious things left like furniture etc, I'd expect a few calls on me.

[Mjark]

They might have been looking a credit card solicitation. I hear people retrieve them from the trash, send them in then go back and get the cards out of the mailbox and max them out.