Surviving the Follow-Home Robbery

Protecting Your Family from Follow Home Robberies: Tips to Save Your Life

 

In this episode of The Secure Family Podcast, Andy discusses the concept of follow home robberies. He offers practical advice on how to avoid becoming a victim. He explains how criminals profile potential targets based on various factors and provides actionable tips to detect and deter these threats. 

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00:00 Welcome to The Secure Family Podcast

00:54 Understanding Identity Theft

01:54 Introduction to Follow Home Robberies

03:18 Preventing Follow Home Robberies

05:09 Defensive Driving Techniques

06:16 Securing Your Home Arrival

Episode Transcript

(00:09):
This is The Secure Family Podcast.
Welcome friend, I'm Andy Murphy, thehost and founder of The Secure Dad.
This show is about empowering parentsto protect themselves and their family.
I believe that security is thefoundation of happiness, and I want
your family to be safe and happy.
The information that I shareon this podcast is for general

(00:29):
information purposes only.
My goal is to empower you to makesafer decisions for yourself and
your family because our safetyis our own responsibility.
Today I'm gonna break down a type ofcrime that can happen anywhere in the
right circumstances, and I'm going totell you how to avoid becoming a victim.
All of that and more coming upon The Secure Family Podcast.

(00:54):
With a high cost of food andeveryday products, families have
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(01:18):
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(01:41):
That's JoinDeleteMe.com/dad code DAD.
Today I wanna discuss a type ofcrime that happens in cities,
suburbs, and in rural areas.
This type of crime has beenaround for years and honestly,

(02:02):
it kind of makes me angry.
A follow home robbery isas simple as it sounds.
Attackers select a target in a publicplace like a store, and then follow them
to their house where they exit theirvehicle and then they are attacked.
There are also other types offollow home crimes like sexual
assault, kidnapping, or even murder.
The information that we're gonna goover today will be for robbery, but

(02:26):
it will also be useful for the othertypes of follow home crimes as well.
Now, generally, the victims of this kindof crime are not random, so don't panic.
The chances are very low that you'll bepicked while you're sitting in traffic.
But there are some things thatwe can do to elevate the risk.
The victim can be chosen basedon what they buy, how they

(02:46):
look, or what car they drive.
It depends on the intent andthe desire of the attacker.
In short, the bad guys profile theirtarget and select someone based on the
likelihood that they'll be successfulversus the amount of energy it takes to
attack them and what they're gonna gain.
While the follow home robbery is anold tactic with social media catching

(03:08):
these crimes and action fellow thievescan now see how effective they are
and then emulate those attacks.
And if it works in onlinevideos, then it's gonna spread.
As protector parents, we can takemeasures to defend ourselves.
So I've been working on this andI found out the reality of what
we can expect to do as parents whoaren't, you know, trained spies.

(03:28):
So we'll work through each stage of theprocess and work on deterring being chosen
as a target for a follow home robbery.
This crime seems to start mostoften in retail locations.
And when we are shopping, we needto be not only aware of who is
around us, but what we're buying.
If we're buying a high value itemlike a gaming system, ammunition

(03:49):
or jewelry, our shopping list couldput a square in someone's sites.
So take into consideration the value ofwhat you're buying to someone else and
what that might say about how you live.
For example, if you go out andbuy designer clothing and shoes,
this could put you at risk ofsomebody taking that from you.
Is that fair?
No, but that is reality.

(04:11):
To help us avoid beingtargeted at, well Target.
Look around to see who you see closeto you multiple times in the store.
That could be a lot of people tobe honest, but cross-reference
that with the people who leave whenyou do and who might stand out.
Also, if you have a gut feeling aboutsomebody, listen to that gut feeling.
If a person follows you toanother store, like at a mall or

(04:35):
an outlet, that's not abnormal.
That happens all the time.
If they follow you to more thanone place that involved you driving
from one location to another.
And you notice that they're not buyinganything that could be a sign of trouble.
If this happens, you can call 9 1 1.
Tell them that you believe thatyou're being followed, and give
a description of that person.
Then tell them where you've seenthem and how they're not purchasing

(04:58):
anything and they're observingyou in multiple locations.
That's actionable informationfor law enforcement.
Make sure that you can articulatethat and it's gonna help your case.
The second phase of theattack is following you home.
Now this can happen in a car, publictransportation, or by some other means.
This can be hard to do ifyou're driving a vehicle.
Especially if you're a parent, it's gonnabe really hard to track other cars while

(05:22):
you're driving and opening juice boxes,while listening to Bluey play in the back.
We've all been there, so I don'texpect you to keep track of
every vehicle and every movement.
That's just not possible for us.
If it does happen and you dosee a vehicle that you think is
following you, do not go home.
Drive around for a bit andsee if they stay with you.

(05:42):
Go around parking lots in public places,park your car and then suddenly drive off.
If they stay with you,you've got a problem.
If they are following you and they seethe suspicious behavior they might break
off, which is kind of what you hope.
If they don't break off, then get on thephone with nine one one and explain that
a person has followed you from a store intheir car and you've tried to lose them.

(06:06):
But they're still with you.
Tell them that you're concerned for yoursafety and the safety of your children.
Ask to meet an officer somewhere orjust drive right to a police station.
Now, let's say that the bad guysare really good and a team of
people has been observing you andyou didn't spot them as you left.
Well, now you're on your way homeand you've not detected them at

(06:27):
all, which is highly possible.
Now you've got to get insideyour home, and this transition is
when most of these attacks occur.
It's like this because they canengage you from outside, from a
place that you thought was safe andthey have the element of surprise
and they can also leave quickly.
This is a great situation for them.
It's horrible for us,but it's great for them.

(06:48):
If you have a garage park in yourgarage and do not unlock your car
door until your garage door is down.
This gives you a barrier and theability to be concealed while you
unload your family and your items.
The same goes if you have agate in front of your home.
If you have a garage that is fullof junk, clean it out and make sure

(07:08):
that your car can park in there.
The safety of your familyoutweighs the inconvenience of
moving your ping pong table.
If you park on the street orin your driveway, check all
around you before you get out.
Look for cars that don't belongto your neighbors and see if
there's a group of people in arunning car that is near your home.
If you see anything that looks out of theordinary, start your car and drive away.

(07:32):
If you see the attack coming, knowthat your car provides protection
and also a means of escape.
So get back into your car.
Start it up and take off.
If they block you in, hit their carand show them that you're serious.
Do a 57 point turn if you haveto and drive through the grass.
Whatever you have to do.
You can drive over your lawnand your neighbor's lawn.

(07:54):
Get that car moving and don't stop.
Then call 9 1 1 andtell them what happened.
You also have to be careful whenyou leave a place like the bank.
I do suggest that you go to the bankand then head directly home or to your
office wherever you're going next.
Don't stop at the gasstation or run other errands.
Follow attacks can happen in parking lotstoo, so be mindful of what you have and

(08:18):
see the value with a criminal mindset.
The same can be said for having a highvalue car like a Hellcat or a BMW.
When you transition out of yourcar, you're in a weaker position.
Attackers will take your keysand drive off with your car.
A follow home.
Robbery is a dynamic crime.
There's a lot of moving parts toit, but if we are observant and we

(08:40):
project a sense of awareness thatthe chances of us being targeted for
this type of crime will decrease.
That's everything that Ihave for the show today.
Thank you, friend for listening.
Take back your privacy and personaldata with help from DeleteMe.
Get 20% off a privacy plan whenusing the Code DAD at checkout.

(09:02):
DeleteMe is the official dataremoval service of The Secure Dad.
Learn how to spot the signs that apredator may be targeting your kid online.
Find out what you need toknow with my ebook Level Up.
I'll show you how to create a saferonline gaming experience in your home.
Get your copy today at thelink in the show notes.
If you'd like to know moreabout The Secure Dad, join

(09:23):
me on Instagram and TikTok.
My username for bothplatforms is TheSecureDad.
And of course, my site is availableto you 24/7 at TheSecureDad.com.
I'm Andy Murphy reminding you thatour safety is our own responsibility.