Do Burglars Ring Doorbells? (Uncovering the Truth)

Burglars usually follow a specific routine and getting to know the behaviors of thieves will help you keep yourself and your possessions safe. Let’s start at the primary point of entry, the front door.

Do burglars ring doorbells? Burglars ring doorbells to see if anyone’s home. If there’s no response, they assume the coast is clear to loot the house. Non-violent criminals will offer some sort of service they don’t intend on providing and leave, while others will take advantage of people who open the door for them.

Do Burglars Ring Doorbells

Some robbers avoid ringing smart doorbells and instead knock loudly at the door because they know you can answer smart doorbells from any location. It’s all about knowing if anyone’s there to disturb their criminal activities.

Even barking dogs inside your house will scare off some intruders. They usually knock on your door at least two to three times and wait a few minutes to make sure there’s nobody home.

Over 70% of burglaries occur when nobody’s home between 10 am and 3 pm. It takes around 10 minutes on average for the burglar to get in and out if there aren’t any disturbances. This is why they ring the doorbell.

At this time of the day, it is easily possible for someone in the family to be at home, and most burglars don’t want any hassles with anyone getting in their way. They just want to take your valuables as quickly as possible to sell just as swiftly as they were attained.

 

How To Respond To Your Doorbell

Knowing how these crooks operate should instill vigilance in how you respond to your doorbell or knocking at your door.

If you’re alone, you should pretend there are other people in the house by shouting, “Can someone get the door!?” Always make sure you respond loudly and verify who’s on the other side.

Communicate through the closed door, even if it feels rude.

If you have any sort of camera at your door, make sure to check it as soon as you can to correctly identify the person knocking.

If you’ve responded to the person at your door and they’ve offered some bogus service and are now leaving your house, call the authorities to report the suspicious person in your neighborhood.

If someone randomly asks if “Mark” or “Carol” (or any random name) lives here and then goes to the next house after being at mine, that would be suspicious.

There won’t be any harm done to anyone if they’re really looking for someone or offering a legitimate service, and the police won’t hold your suspicion against you.

If you’re aware of some door to door salesman and landscaping services in your area you don’t have to call the police for every person you see walking around but certainly whenever you feel that anyone is out of the ordinary.

Go with your gut feeling when observing people in your neighborhood, and don’t be afraid to call the police.

Keep your valuables in a safe. These types of robbers are looking to steal your small and valuable items such as jewelry, electronics, and cash. Try to keep these valuables in a safe somewhere hidden whenever you aren’t using them.

This way, if your house is looted while you’re away, at least they wouldn’t have gotten into your bolted down safe.

Keeping your important documents like birth certificates and other identification documents in your safe is also a good idea. Keeping them in a tight safe will also make it fireproof.

 

What If I See Suspicious People At My Door

  • If you see anyone at your door that you weren’t expecting and you have a smart doorbell, ask them what they are doing there. Burglars will either just run away, ask a pointless question, or offer a phony service.
  • If there’s someone that’s messing around with your door, immediately tell them that you have called the police and they are coming. Then you should actually call the police and let them know that someone was trying to break into your place. If they ran away, the police would still want to file a report and get the video footage to assist with related crimes.
  • If they didn’t run away, hide in a small enclosed space somewhere and stay on the 911 call until help has arrived.

 

Common Scams Of The Door To Door Thief

Sometimes these swindlers just want some additional information from you. Make sure not to answer anyone’s questions if they involve anything personal to you or your family members.

If someone arrives at your door with an emergency, instead call the relevant emergency services for them and don’t open up to try and help them yourself.

If there’s a medical emergency, call 911, if there’s a breakdown, call roadside assistance, if there was a crime, call 911 and report what the person is telling you.

If you feel that anyone unusual is in your neighborhood going house to house, call the police and ask them if they can investigate.

 

Do Smart Doorbells Deter Burglars?

Smart Doorbell

Smart doorbells certainly deter lawbreakers who don’t want their faces caught on video. Burglars see the camera and rather move on to a house with less surveillance.

Of course, smart doorbells help a lot in these types of situations, whether someone rings the bell or not. Most smart doorbells have motion sensor features that will alert you if there’s any activity at your front door.

Some smart cameras are just as good, with motion sensors, two-way communication, and live video feed so you can see exactly what’s happening at your doorstep anywhere from your phone.

 

Protect Yourself From Front Door Attacks

Around 35% of burglars gain access to a house through the front door.

Follow the advice above regarding good front door safety habits and install an extra layer of security in the form of a security grid, which will go a long way in keeping you safe. It will ensure that your door isn’t kicked in.

Even if they pry the security grid open, at least it will take extra time to do so and, therefore, extra time for you to press panic buttons and call the police.

A security grid is also much better to communicate through than a solid door, for when you want to communicate with delivery workers or whoever else.

 

Light Up Your Main Entrance

With your main entrance brightly lit at night, anyone in the area can see if there are any strange-looking people at your doorstep. Your cameras will be able to record better footage if you have a well-lit entrance.

Using a motion sensor light on your porch is an excellent way to deter thieves from messing around at your door.

 

Get An Alarm System

If you install an alarm system into your house, you’ll be able to answer the door while holding a panic button just in case it’s a robber at the door.

If your alarm system doesn’t have a remote panic button, make sure that your alarm keypad is close enough to your front door so that you can activate the alarm quickly enough if things go south after responding to the person at your door.

Use the panic button if the person at the door threatens you in any way or demands to come inside the house. Use the panic button if you see someone at your door with any weapon in their hands.

In these cases, don’t activate a silent alarm; it will be better if there’s a loud siren going off to chase the bandit away.

 

Conclusion: Do Burglars Ring Doorbells?

Considering some of the statistics outlined in this article, everyone needs to start practicing safe habits when responding to the sound of their doorbell. Making sure to respond swiftly to the bell, but also remembering not to open the door for anyone, can save your life.

Having a smart doorbell like this one on Amazon will prove to be invaluable to you as you can speak to anyone at the door at any time without actually being there.  If the doorbell picks up motion at your doorstep, it will notify you so that you can see who’s there.

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Author

Edward Clark
Edward Clark, with 15 years of hands-on experience, is a distinguished expert in smart locks and home security systems. He holds a B.S. in Computer Engineering with a focus on Cybersecurity and is a member of the Electronic Security Association (ESA). His credentials include certifications from ASIS International, IAPP, CompTIA, NTS, and CEDIA. With expertise spanning risk management, electronic security, and data privacy, he's been featured in The Guardian, Forbes, Wired, and more. Edward's mission: guiding individuals toward secure homes using the latest technologies.

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