Before I burglarize any house, I always check KZfaq to see the latest hiding locations for safes..........

If burglars went into my master bedroom closet, they would probably assume I'd already been robbed that day.

To make it extra safe, buy two safes and use one of them as a decoy safe. Put the decoy in an obvious spot and put heavy stones inside to make it hard for the thief so he's less likely to come looking for more

After being the victim of multiple burglaries Rodney Dangerfield left a note on his door that read " Dear burglar, I am home." When Dangerfield returned home he saw that he had been burglarized again. Inside, Dangerfield found a note from the burglar which said, "Where the hell were you? I looked all over your house!"

I would NEVER trust an ACME safe. I’m scared it might land on my pet coyote.

A burglar broke into my house looking for money one night. I got up and helped him look.

I had a house that was built by a huge builder. At that time, they built them in a month. The only way for them to do this quickly was to cut corners especially in finish work. One day I was standing on a tall step ladder trying to condense stuff in the kitchen cabinets. The orientation of the cabinets on the 2 walls, was that they joined on the corner leaving one cabinet with space that was difficult to reach on the one side. As I was stuffing plastic cups into the difficult space I noticed that they did not bother to seal the one side that joined the other cabinet. At first I was pissed how cheap the builder was, but then...my brain started to look at the area completely hidden as a hiding place for a pretty good amount of stuff. Not only would someone not see it unless they were on a ladder but it was open to drop down things about 12 inches.

Mine is bolted to the floor in the garage, right by the door. Would be the easiest thing in the world to reach if they knew it was there. But it is hidden by lawn bags, yard tools, a mower, etc. Best part about it, the fire-rated safe would be easy to access if the house was damaged in a fire or destroyed in a tornado. I keep all of my precious valuables in there: Pokémon cards, discount coupons to Chuck-E-Cheese, everything.

The 3 most ingeniously hidden safes this old Plumber has seen- Basement wall safe with a sheet of plywood leaned in front of it. A false panel in a closet, that shortened the entire end wall of the closet- held in place by magnets, it used a small finger hole to pop it open to expose the safe. A 30 gallon galvanized trashcan, complete with a trash bag hanging out from under the lid- The can had a floor safe in it, and was poured full of concrete.

“There’s not a lot of valuables in a pantry…” Says you. The pantry has Oreos and Cheeze-It’s.

Been in intelligence, cybersecurity and real physical security for much of my career. Not much to do with residential, really, but one technique I've always looked at as legitimate is "security through obscurity." Security should be built up in layers, but this can be one of them. The three legs of a security breach are "means, motive and opportunity." For a residential burglary, the means and motive are moot points - the bad guy is already in the house, bent on evil deeds. The opportunity is the safe, if it can be located. Given enough time, even Ft. Knox could be breached. So it would seem that two viable options, given the time constraint as the video describes, are to either make the safe impenetrable for that long, or make it hard to find. Hard to find is cheaper and probably just as effective - hence the "security through obscurity" buzzwords. Hide it where they won't look for it, or where, if they do see it, they won't recognize it for what it is. One other thought - a poorly designed safe and or location for it can be worse than no safe at all. If things were spread out around your house, the thief might find some of them, but probably not all. The safe, on the other hand, provides a nice little central location and a single place for the thief to find all your valuables - all that is required is to compromise a single point of failure...

The problem I have with a safe (not a gun safe) in the house, is that most burglars want to just get in and get out quick...Steal your stuff, and get away. But I fear should they find a safe, they now they have a reason to wait for you to come home so you can open it for them.

"No one looks for valuables in a Pantry...." of course.... unless you are in a pandemic with a food shortage........

Back in the 70's and 80's, I had a truck driving job in Brisbane, Queensland, delivering groceries to small, owner-operated supermarkets. Burglar alarms weren't all that common back then, so grocery stores were often broken into and the most popular item stolen wasn't money, but cigarettes. One store owner I knew told me how he tried everything to secure his stocks of tobacco and cigarettes, but all to no avail. He tried hiding them in behind stacks of unopened stock and in a lock-up cage, but they always found a way to steal them. Finally, he appealed to the stupidity of the average bone head burglar and hid the smokes in plain sight. Every night at closing time, he gathered all of the packets of cigarettes and put them in an empty Kellog's Corn Flakes carton. Then he would put that carton in a corner of his store room where he used to throw all of his empty cartons and cover it with said empty cartons. For a while, he was still broken into, but for the most part, very little was stolen. After a while, the super-stupid crims gave up and left him alone! It's not as good as a safe, but if it works, who cares?

As a home thief I really appreciate this "Home Owner Secrets Exposed" type video. Thanks for spreading the word to the thief community good sir.

I like your box idea. I had a neighbor who had a detached garage with a large gun safe inside it. He put a refrigerator box over it. Even wrote "FOR RENTAL HOUSE" on it to sell it even more.

I frustrated my parents for years by finding all their hiding spaces for Christmas. I went so far to undo door hinges and pick door locks. One year they stumped me. They hid the presents on the top shelf of the pantry that I look into on a daily basis.

If your house resembles something out of the A&E TV show _Hoarders_ you could easily hide a safe from detection.

We spend the first half of our lives squirreling away as much loot as we can, and then spend the last half worrying about someone taking it away from us.

Another practical idea is to just leave 60 bucks out on the bedstand or the kitchen table, to give the thief a reason to be satisfied enough to leave. having multiple safes is also a good idea, but dont put rocks or dumb stuff in it, or the thief might come back to find the real stuff, or just do some damage as payback. don't make yourself memorable to a thief, you have way more to lose than them.

The most secure is buy 100 safes and place them all over the house, then use one of them.

I lived in Rio de Janeiro for some years, where muggings are common. The rule always was to carry two wallet's. One to give the mugger and a second which you aimed to keep.

I don't own a safe but keep my valuables in concealment furniture... not anything a thief would recognize unless they are know a thing or two about antiques. As a DIYer, I can see myself crafting a secret spot in a well thought-out cat tree. If I were able to do a floor safe, I'd probably put it under a litter box or the dog crate. I like the box of junk idea.

I like the idea of leaving a safe in a common place to be rousted, but to fill it with lead, and heat it enough to get it to become one solid block that the thief cannot open even with a prybar. They can either abandon it, or take the pain and effort of carting it while dreaming it's full of gold. I also like the concept of having a gps transmitter attached to it, and set off by a wire that breaks when the safe is moved. That way the thieves might even get caught with the stolen paperweight.

How about a decoy safe? One that is not really hidden very well, and full of rocks? If they carry it away, they will get a nice surprise after opening it.

Since I take an average of three burglary reports every day, I just shook my head through the whole video...until you got to the pantry. THAT was a good idea. Because they'll take food out of your fridge, but they won't steal your rice and cereal. Also, bolt those safes down, because they will just walk off with them and worry about opening them later. The most important tip, though, is DO NOT TELL ANYONE where your safe is. NO ONE, because you don't know anyone as well as you think you do.

My uncle had a safe behind a portrait of himself in his penthouse suite home office. Inside that safe is a fireproof strong box, containing a Gray’s Sports Almanac from 1950-2000, kept in a plastic bag.

I love to have that walk-in pantry. He has it well stocked.

I like your choices. But if I were putting a safe in the pantry one thing I'd add is that I'd make sure that the food I put in front of the safe were something like bulk beans or flour, not yummy looking snacks. I've heard tales of burglars stopping on their way out for snacks!

Just be aware - if you have a housekeeper they will be well aware of the location of your safe if you hide them in either of his favorite locations. Especially problematic if you use a cleaning service which may send different people to your home.

I use a small safe that's fire and water-proof (because having it survive a fire does no good if doesn't survive the fire department's efforts) but any burglar would be disappointed on opening it to find the only valuables are my divorce and custody papers. They're valuable to me!

My grandparents did canning every summer in mason jars. Canned tomatoes, peaches, pears. He stored gold coins in plastic inside three of the jars with pears. He marked the dates on each one with 3, 2 and 1 day before canning. Four of the 15 jars were marked with a date 4 days before. These had the coins

Good video...I want to add that burglars will TOSS an ENTIRE apartment or house..it will look like a tornado hit, looking for everything. They will find the safe even in the box marked misc...make the safe hard for them to take it and with an alarm system notifying you (I have a ring alarm motion detector in mine, it will notify my phone immediately upon someone moving or entering it, my small safe is also bolted down so it should give me enough time to get home or in time for the police to respond) This advice coming from an Officer.

I hide my valuable items by converting them into cash and then buying land and farm equipment. Works like a charm. Nobody wants dirt and chicken manure and shovels. But the eggs and veggies are priceless return on investment.

Some very good tips here. I really like the empty box over the safe trick. Hiding a safe under a sink is clever and I agree that most criminals won't look there. My only concern is leaking gray water or broken pipes. Clean up would be impossible and water damage to safe contents is a real possibility.

thank you for making this video and letting all the thieves know where to look next after they didnt find any safe in the bedroom

I know two BRILLIANT places to hide a safe. I would be a damn fool if i told you 🤣🤣

BTW, thieves don’t read labels on boxes when they rob your house. They just toss all the boxes out into the room and see what falls out.

In the 90s my best friend father was beaten to a pulp and spent 2 weeks in a coma because he could not open a safe hidden in an apartment he rented in Rio. His wife lost an eye to the burglars. Later they learned the safe had nothing inside. Since then I always leave hotel safes open and when I rent an Airbnb I make sure to request any existing safe be left open. Everything can be replaced.

Always remember, no safe is hard to open if it can be found and there's someone at home to point a gun at. The only safe that is safe is the one that can't be found. It doesn't even need to have thick walls and a lock, if no one can find it.

At my house it’s called Defensive Clutter. Anything that makes more time and effort increases security. The longer they’re in the “nervouser” they get.

In the old days of the early 1900's, valuables were stored inside the old Victrola phonographs. I know a guy that used to deal with the old phonographs and he always checked behind the speaker grill after he purchased a floor phonograph and found lots of money hidden there over the years.

Another handy place to hide jewelry items is in a closet which is not a walk in. Open the door and look up inside where the door closes and above the door is usually a space of 2 feet or more. I put small nails inside above the door and hang chains, rings and other jewelry items which are out of sight when you open the door. You would have to turn with you back to the closet shelves and then look up and above where the door closes to see the items. Most people would open the door and see linens or other things and then close the door. You have to turn with your back facing the closet and then look up to see the hidden items. Other ways are to use food boxes in your pantry to hide valuable items ( just don't forget where you hid them ) LOL Always try to outsmart the bad guys !

I've been an electrician for 28 years and 85% of little safes are always in the kitchen walk in pantry of all houses that I've wired. Very last place I'd put a safe.

I was a silver stacker for some time. One of the best ideas I ever heard of was you take your bullion and put it in sealed sleeves (they have that) and drop them in old half used paint cans in the garage. NOBODY is going to grab old paint cans in the garage - no need for a safe at all and IMO actually more foolproof to thieves.

I really love the cardboard box trick! I labelled mine "x-mas decorations" after I moved into my place.

One bit of advice that works: Buy a small cash box/container and seal it in a large two-gallon freezer bag and bury it somewhere in your backyard--even a small dirt area that a condo might have. No burglar is going to start digging up the backyard or patio area dirt. Then, buy an inexpensive lockable safe and place it in a dresser drawer or on a shelf in your primary bedroom's closet--some place where it can be easily found--that only contains non-valuables like old eyeglasses or medallions taped in an old Bandaid can to give it some heft and sound. A burglar might leave rather quickly to lessen the chances of getting caught--he/she would be eager to get home to get at those supposed "treasures" in that decoy safe lol!

Thank you so much for sharing this insightful video! Hiding safe places is crucial, and your tips are invaluable. One additional approach I've found useful is utilizing unexpected spots like false bottoms in drawers or hollowed-out books on shelves. Keep up the great work, and let's all stay one step ahead of potential risks!

I keep my safe in the display case with my pet rattlesnake and tarantulas.

Great video for criminals to learn where to look for safes. Best place I ever knew? A wood paneled room, with a hidden door among the panels held by a magnetic lock latch release. You couldn't even tell that there was a closet in the room, every wall looked the same.

I wonder how much the color of a safe matters in whether it its recognized. Apparently, some theme parks paint utility items or other items they don't want people to pay attention to in their parks in a color called Go Away Green or something like that. Have safe makers studied what colors of safes are more likely to be found, if there is any difference?

Anyone coming into my house would think it was already robbed and wonder if anyone ever cleaned. 😆

The best security advice: Hide your safe and make a KZfaq video on how and where you hid it.....Masterful indeed.

Watch your cleaning crew if u use them. They are known to look into every nook and cranny in your house. I no longer use them after missing jewelry, cash and other valuables disappear over time.

Spoke with burglar and she showed me how they operate. Things I thought about doing, she said to NEVER do. THE #1 and first place checked are master bedrooms. Drawers and closets. YES-they DO CHECK SINKS!!!! Unfortunately, I'm not sharing where my jewelry is kept. Definitely a no-check.

Great Video! I retired to Brazil and besides my family, what I need to protect the most is my PASSPORT😎

Depends what is kept in the safe. If you have expensive watches and jewelry and the safe is too far away, you are less likely to use it EVERY SINGLE TIME. Convenience has some role to play in this.

My dad pulled the tip and ink reservoir out of one of those jumbo permanent markers. Great place to put some cash rolled tight and stored in a drawer with the cap replaced with other random markers. As long as a thief doesn’t need to label anything, you’re golden.

We never had a safe when I was a child (I don't have one now either) but when I was a child the attic was converted into an extra bedroom. A carpenter built floor to ceiling shelves at one end to fit the sloping sides and at the top at either end he fitted a secret compartment. You wouldn't realise unless you knew how to open them. There weren't ever any valuables in it, it was just something fun we could hide small toys in.

I have a collection of 85 antique sewing machines in original wood boxes, cases and cabinets. They are spread all over the house in various closets, cupboards, used as lamp tables and in the garage. Only one out of 85 has the valuables stored in it. Good luck to my son finding which one when I kick the bucket! 🤣

These days, don't put a safe near your toilet paper storage area.

Perfect way to thwart burglars? Own nothing valuable. It totally confuses them.

Yeah, nobody looks under the sink, in a cabinet in the laundry or a pantry. That is until they see or hear about this video. Thanks for giving these ideas away to potential thieves in my area.

Good 💡 idea. The Walk in PANTRY. I have 1 but NEVER thought of Hiding a SAFE in THERE. THANKS AGAIN 👍🤓👍👍👍

The judge told me I have to keep all my valuables at my ex-wife's house.

I use an old plastic coffee thermos. Leave it outside until sun faded and dirty, a few webs on it and then put your stuff in. Lay it on a dirty shelf in the garage next to old paint cans.

I like the bathroom idea as the bathroom has a door lock. In case of a home invasion you can use this as a safe room and lock yourself in. Then if you have a hand gun in the safe, the gun is easily accessible.

Anyone looking to find a safe will now look in these places. Bravo!!

Best place? In the basement. Crooks don't like one entrance rooms. I find you down there you will be staying down there.

The laundry room never gets tossed - until thieves discover KZfaq.

thanks for sharing,i just bought a safe.These are definitely places burglars would not even think about looking for valuables.

thanks, im a burglar and this was very helpful advice!

In my last house , I personally built a closet into a secret wall . When my house was burgularized , they never found it . I also always put a large lock , with tape wrapped around the shakle , thru the ejection port of my pump shotgun , when I leave the house . That way , its unlikely that I ll get shot with my own gun if I walk in on a robbery . That was the only valuable that the thief actually stole . They found the shotgun , still locked , in an abandoned house about a year later .

I work for a generator company and have several requests per year for the outside case from an old transfer switch. Some of these are large enough to hide a half dozen riffles. They mount these things on the wall in the basement, near their electrical panel then install a couple of dummy conduit pipes. Nobody in their right mind will open an electrical box looking for valuables. Same goes for an old style fridge with the door removed and turned against the wall. Leave the door there too as a decoy.

Another home security video I’ve seen suggests (for properties left empty for a long time) using a small length of drain pipe buried vertically in the garden. Small valuables are stored inside in a sealed weatherproof bag. Gutter end covers on the top and bottom keep it dry inside. Just don’t forget where you’ve buried it!

"Nobody looks under a sink." They do now.

Slightly off topic, the ROTC at a school I used to go to had a house on Fraternity Row. The social frats didn't like them being there and harassed them. About the only thing of value they had was a stereo. The speakers were bolted down, so the recievers kept disappearing. One of them got the bright idea to cut a hole in the table and stick a flash-bang under there. It destroyed the table and the cheap reciever, put a dent in the ceiling and broke the windows in the front room. There was a litteral trail of fecal matter leading out the door. Nobody messed with them again.

I was told by a police officer that thieves hate to go in the loft due to the fear of the occupant coming home whilst they are up there. No one wants to get stuck in a loft !

I love people who buy smaller safes, as I get older they are so much easier to carry

Hide your good safe like that. But buy a cheap safe and just put something a little weighty in it. The thief sees the cheap decoy, does not look further for a safe and carries off the safe. Plus with that safe in their hands they may not to also be able to carry off other heavy or bulky items. Read an article decades ago by a retired burglar. He had some silver tableware in the customary wood chest. He dropped a $50 on top of the case because that was what the thief would have gotten for the fenced silver. Plus the cash could not be traced back to the property he burglarized making leaving the silver the smart move.

0:09 seconds into this video and all I can hear in my head is LPL:" here are 3 safes with egregious design flaws..."

Now I just need a safe and a house with a pantry I will be all set.

Great content! Thanks for sharing.

Small safes with fireproof properties are good for keeping important documents to protect mainly against fire, also theft.

If I had a safe in my pantry I would put the chocolate chips in it.

Good advice. Me, I have two safes, one that is not too hard to find with not much money, the second that has more money is better hidden. I don't care if they take the first one and chances are they will not guess that there are two. As to the second, my house at one time (prohibition) used to be a gambling den, speakeasy and has secret rooms and hidding places. Almost got killed by one, because I had no idea the hidden door was lose. Been here 15 years and the most recent find was last year.

I don’t even need a safe because I’m not living in the US, but those videos are really informative and I enjoy watching them.

All such good information use. Thank you!

My neighbor growing up was a jeweler. His house was robbed several times. He would bait them with fake jewelry scattered about. From what I can remember it worked every time.

In-wall safes for the win. I have installed hundreds of them in customers homes. Behind clothes in closets, behind pictures, etc... I've even put them in the floors underneath a rug.

Great video and ideas! Thanks for the tips.

We found the the homemade safe when cleaning up my great uncle's estate. It was behind the toolboxes in the tool shed, walled in. If we didn't add up the space and realize there was a box sized area missing from the tool shed it would have gone unfound.

The best place to hide a safe is somewhere that you don't tell anyone about, especially on a KZfaq video. But this video is good for telling you where not to hide your safe

I keep my small safe inside my big safe. Perfectly safe!

When you ultimately have to replace your water heater tank, keep it. hollow it out and use it. Run some bogus copper into the drywall to look authentic...

Good info. However, always mount a safe in your master bedroom. Fasten it good. Never put valuables in this safe. It’s a decoy. Mount a safe in one of the other locations for your valuables. They will spend most of their short time in your house trying to get the decoy safe. This also detours them from looking elsewhere. They think they found the pot of gold.

I hide my valuables in a water sealed container linked by a chain to the underside of the lid that sits on my septic tank. Works like a charm.

in the middle of a pandemic and an unreliable just in time delivery system, the pantry might be the first thing they burglarize lol. Thanks for the tips, its something to really think about.

Great. Thanks for all the information on hiding small safes. Given me some great ideas what to do. Take care.

I used to have a self-modified roll-top desk, I gutted the back side on the left and just pinned and glued the former drawer faces on so they looked like simple locked drawers but behind them was my safe which you'd have to move the desk and then know to pop the back panel off which was only held in place by being cut to a tight fit.