Suspected 2000 peso theft by cleaning lady from 4-digit key safe

[LostinBA]

I bought one of those cheap 4-digit keycode safes that COTO sells for a couple hundred pesos.

I just moved into a new apartment and the wife of one of the encargados cleaned my place yesterday. I swear that I had 4000 pesos in the safe a few days ago and today I found only 2000 pesos.

Without knowing the keycode, it can be opened with a round key that resembles a bike lock key. Has anyone heard of these being so easy to open/crack/robbed?

Anyone have any smart recommendations of what I should do? Can't get a bank account, too much trouble without a DNI.

Thanks.

 

[Barney]

Just bring your cash with you when your house is getting cleaned or show up before she leaves your house and check your valueables.

 

[Raymond]

Its was probably the same gorilla that broke into my room, punched me in the head and took all my money and one shoe. damn apes.

 

[French jurist]

I have the ultimate solution : rent a house with a garden + buy beehives and hide anything under them.

More seriously, such a small safe is like placing a sign : I have valuables in here !

If you want to catch the robber and if you have a webcam, download a free software with motion detection and you know the rest.

Avoid places like : under the bed, in the shoes, between two shirts, etc. Those are obvious places.
You have to think of a very original place : if you have a terrace with plants, put the bills in a tiny tupperware, seal it, and dig. If you have a dog : buy a 25 kilos bag of food & hide the bills at the bottom of it. Unscrew the top of your washing machine and tape the bills under the cover + screw again, etc etc.

 

[va2ba]

Wouldn't surprise me. I am sure that it isn't the first time that the woman has come across them if she regularly cleans apartments.

Any time we had someone clean our apartment, any cash was kept in my pockets and I didn't leave the apartment until after the person was done.

 

[fred mertz]

I keep money in 2 covered soap dishes; the kind that one uses for traveling. One is kept on a high kitchen shelf and the other is behind books in a bookcase. Both contain US$ and Euros. When I need Pesos I go to an ATM and live hand to mouth.

 

[BAwithkids]

How safe are the security boxes found in many tourist rentals?

 

[mhenna11]

This is great, I lived in El Salvador, and had my only robbing experience my first week there. We didn't have guard dogs and our house was easy to break into, so we learned to hide our stuff really good, kind of like what this person suggested.When we would go away for a week to Honduras, I would make the bed as if someone was sleeping in the bed, I would sculpture a body with clothes, scattered open books as if the person fell asleep reading, slippers, I left a small lamp on, and had classical music playing for the 8 months of living there, we never got robbed again. Yes, you have to be creative about it. I love the beehive idea, but be careful, bee's here a little aggressive more than your typical bees. But this is a great idea. I love it.

I have the ultimate solution : rent a house with a garden + buy beehives and hide anything under them.

More seriously, such a small safe is like placing a sign : I have valuables in here !

If you want to catch the robber and if you have a webcam, download a free software with motion detection and you know the rest.

Avoid places like : under the bed, in the shoes, between two shirts, etc. Those are obvious places.
You have to think of a very original place : if you have a terrace with plants, put the bills in a tiny tupperware, seal it, and dig. If you have a dog : buy a 25 kilos bag of food & hide the bills at the bottom of it. Unscrew the top of your washing machine and tape the bills under the cover + screw again, etc etc.

 

[LostinBA]

Its was probably the same gorilla that broke into my room, punched me in the head and took all my money and one shoe. damn apes.

Damn dirty ape!