It’s a scenario that we’ve all encountered—or at least thought about: You’re at home and someone knocks on your front door. Do you answer? Or do you pretend you’re not home? Well, according to one expert, choosing the latter option could put you in harm’s way.
In a nearly two-minute video, crime reporter Lori Fullbright (@lorifullbright) explained why pretending nobody’s home is a risky bet. As of Tuesday morning, her video had over 2.5 million views.
@lorifullbright #crimebeat #safetytip #tvnews #crime #tulsaoklahoma ♬ original sound – Lori Fullbright
“I have interviewed hundreds of criminals … in my 31 years as a crime reporter,” Fullbright explained. “The vast majority of them tell me that they want to hit a house that’s empty. They want to kick in your door when you’re gone. They want to take all of your stuff and leave.”
Fulbright emphasized that burglars prefer to hit empty homes during the weekdays, between the hours 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
“They knock. They listen, no footsteps, no voices, no TV, no radio, so what do you think the house is? Empty. And boom, they kick it,” she said.
But what happens when somebody actually is home?
“It’s way worse if they kick in that door and there you are, inside, pretending you’re not there. Now you’re face to face with a criminal,” Fullbright warned. “So the next time someone knocks, don’t get quiet! Make noise!”
In the comments, a number of viewers elaborated on the different ways they were taught to handle strangers at their doors.
“Growing up in the ’90s our parents would leave us and tell us ‘pretend you’re not home if someone knocks at the door’ and that kinda just stuck,” one commenter said.
“This is why my mom would leave on a radio when we’d leave the house,” another said.
One commenter shared a chilling experience of when they ignored a knock on the door and burglars broke in through a window. “I hid in the dryer to hide for over an hour,” they wrote.
“I was always told if they come during the day they want your stuff. If they come at night, then they want you,” a fourth commenter added.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Fullbright via TikTok comment.