The victim of a break-and-enter and truck theft south of Calgary is warning people to be extra careful when posting ads online.
Jacques Hetu feels he was specifically targeted by thieves after they saw his basement suite for rent on Kijiji.
It’s Hetu’s theory that a man posing as a prospective renter came to his place to scope it out, find out his schedule, then victimize him.
“He was asking me questions… like, ‘Is it noisy here during the day?’ And like a fool I told him I’m working all day,” Hetu said.
Hetu said the man also asked about the security system in the newly built home and Hetu told him wasn’t fully installed yet — details Hetu wishes he hadn’t shared.
Days later Hetu said he returned home from work to find his door had been broken, his place ransacked.
“They cut the safe out of my master bedroom closet they went into my garage and took my tools to cut open to safe… devastating,” he said. “They even stole my kids’ toys, it’s so petty.”
To make matters worse, thieves loaded up Hetu’s own truck with his belongings and took off.
Hetu said the “prospective renter” is now nowhere to be found. He hasn’t answered of Hetu’s calls or messages, and he doesn’t have any further personal information about the man; no name or photo.
Security experts warn that by listing items online, you can inadvertently make yourself a target.
“If you’re able and they’re willing to, let them take a picture of your driver’s license or a piece of identification before you let them in the door,” Barry Davidson of the Canadian Crime Prevention Centre said.
Davidson said it’s common for thieves to troll newspapers or the internet for possible victims.
“The guiding principle is, ‘Know who you’re dealing with,'” Davidson added. “Sadly I would say don’t trust anybody.”
RCMP officers are investigating Hetu’s case but so far no arrests have been made.