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Crime Reporter Reveals How Burglars Choose Which Homes to Target, and the One Mistake That Invites Them in

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Most people picture a break-in happening at 2 a.m., with a crowbar and a ski mask. The reality is actually way more mundane—and way more likely to happen while you’re at work.

Lori Fullbright covers crime for Tulsa’s News on 6 and has spent 31 years doing it, which means she has also spent 31 years interviewing the people on the other side of the door. Her recent TikTok on burglar tactics pulled hundreds of thousands of views, and the data behind it holds up. FBI 2024 figures put 53% of residential break-ins during daytime hours, and a survey of convicted burglars found nearly a third knocked first—posing as delivery drivers, landscapers, or someone who lost their dog.

The method is simple. A burglar knocks, then listens. No footsteps, no TV, no voices—and in their read, the house is empty. “The vast majority of these burglars tell me they want to........

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