[red tail]

too many people watching too much tv.

[Skybo]

Originally Posted by Serenoa

Don't know why so many are apt to immediately think the worst; ie. identity theft, prescription bottles, etc.

I don't blame the OP for investigating, but they were most likely collecting aluminum cans.

This is a community which puts out recyclables in clear plastic bags on specific days. If the bags they were picking through were the recyclable items, you may be right, but if it were regular trash bags, then I think it's unlikely someone would pick through rotting garbage looking for aluminum cans. I think identity theft is much more plausible. I know that it's legal for people to pick through my trash bags at the curb, but I still don't like it. The last thing I put into my trash bags before they go out to the curb is a weeks worth of dog poop. Happy snooping.

[texasfal]

Originally Posted by Skybo

This is a community which puts out recyclables in clear plastic bags on specific days. If the bags they were picking through were the recyclable items, you may be right, but if it were regular trash bags, then I think it's unlikely someone would pick through rotting garbage looking for aluminum cans. I think identity theft is much more plausible. I know that it's legal for people to pick through my trash bags at the curb, but I still don't like it. The last thing I put into my trash bags before they go out to the curb is a weeks worth of dog poop. Happy snooping.

This is why I put my dog's poop bags on top of the garbage before I put it at the curb. Let them dig thru poop if they want.
.

[Rango]

Originally Posted by Wkcarter

It's not a violation of law to go through one trash once it's been placed on the curb to be picked up. It's public property once that it's been placed on the curb and no search warrent is needed. This is why you should shred anything with your name on it. They were probably trying to steal someone's identity

If the trash is on your property they are trespassing. If it's in the street, it's fair game.

[billethkid]

OK.......I'll bite.......
Were they pawing through the bag? Dumping on the ground? Leaving a mess?

Some how to a question asker like me .....there has to be more to the story.......especially if they were doing it in front of the watch patrol.

My reaction is to call the police.......they were on your property searching your trash........Nuffield said for me.

Btk

[water boy]

Originally Posted by billethkid

OK.......I'll bite.......
Were they pawing through the bag? Dumping on the ground? Leaving a mess?

Some how to a question asker like me .....there has to be more to the story.......especially if they were doing it in front of the watch patrol.

My reaction is to call the police.......they were on your property searching your trash........Nuffield said for me.

Btk

they were not on my property they were at the house across the street and yes they were going thru there garbage bag they did not dump it out or make a mess just going thru it for what who knows. when they drove off one of them was riding on the hood of the truck all of this is not normal and I cant understand why the boss from our watch program did nothing not even telling them to leave and make sure they did or call the police. the 2nd time the boss pulled up on them I watched them go thru peoples garbage bags in front of him and after talking to them again he drove off leaving them doing what they were doing. don't really care what you think made this post to let people know what I saw and what our watch patrol did about it. also these were not clear garbage bags they were black ones.

[kagney123]

Originally Posted by water boy

they were not on my property they were at the house across the street and yes they were going thru there garbage bag they did not dump it out or make a mess just going thru it for what who knows. when they drove off one of them was riding on the hood of the truck all of this is not normal and I cant understand why the boss from our watch program did nothing not even telling them to leave and make sure they did or call the police. the 2nd time the boss pulled up on them I watched them go thru peoples garbage bags in front of him and after talking to them again he drove off leaving them doing what they were doing. don't really care what you think made this post to let people know what I saw and what our watch patrol did about it. also these were not clear garbage bags they were black ones.

Thank you for this information, I have a question... Who do the "watch program people report to?" Does this boss have to write the results of any call he receives? Is there a place to see how many watch calls were made and the results per week or per month? I am still wondering what the conversation was about between them that then allowed the men to continue looking through the black trash bags? OK I gotta get back to packing and painting.. hopefully I will be in the Villages by end of year.

[gomoho]

Water boy - thank you for sharing this information so the rest of us can be more cautious about what we put out in the garbage. Sorry some folks chose to criticize
rather than thank you for your efforts. Wish the community watch had responded in a more profession way - like calling the police to handle the situation.

[ilovetv]

Especially shred those annoying credit card applications from major banks that want you to get one with a $50,000 limit so you can take out cash withdrawals at 26% interest!! And separate bunches of the shredded materials into various bags!

Another good identity protection measure is to freeze your SSN with the 3 main credit bureaus. http://consumersunion.org/pdf/security/securityFL.pdf

[bdabob]

I'm guessing that because they were in a truck they were not Village residents and therefore should not have been driving in our gated communities; trespassing.
It also appears they high-tailed it as soon as they were spotted by the author of this thread; very suspicious.
I would hope the Village Watch people would take a very serious view of this type of activity and involve the police.

[beachx4me]

Thank you for sharing this information. Riding along on the hood of the auto, in my opinion, is not normal at all. BUSTED.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by bdabob

I'm guessing that because they were in a truck they were not Village residents and therefore should not have been driving in our gated communities; trespassing.
It also appears they high-tailed it as soon as they were spotted by the author of this thread; very suspicious.
I would hope the Village Watch people would take a very serious view of this type of activity and involve the police.

They weren't trespassing, our roads are public roads.

[justjim]

OP thanks for your post. This was very good information. I am guilty of sometimes putting information I got in the mail without shredding it. I must be more careful.

Just a thought. I see residents putting unwanted mail into the trash cans near the mail boxes and the adult pools all the time. Maybe these guys aren't "bright" enough to look there. Nah! They aren't on TOTV.

[buggyone]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

They weren't trespassing, our roads are public roads.

Exactly right - all our roadways are public.

I wonder if anyone on this forum has contacted Community Watch to ask them what transpired in the interaction between Community Watch and the garbage pickers. That might be enlightening.

[BettyCrocked]

They aren't villagers because they were in a truck? Wow. Nice reach. Didn't know villagers weren't allowed to drive pickup trucks.
Call community watch, call police, call the FBI... As has been stated numerous times on this post only board, it is not illegal. Smart people don't put their sensitive info in the trash if they've watched any news in the last 10 years.
If you live here and don't know that this isn't a gated community, I just don't know what to say.