[needleptdoc]

Last night( Friday) the lights were all out and we were sleeping.It was 9;45 pm The doorbell rang. I yelled thru the door "Who is it". A lady said" She was a florist with flowers from my realtor thanking me for a referral." I told her she was crazy . How do you ring someones doorbell when all the lights are out at this hour. I told her I never referred anyone to my realtor and I don;t want her flowers. I did not open the door. When I looked out the window she did not have flowers in her hand and there was a white van in front of my house with a man driving. I called security and they said they would scan the area for the van. They thought it was very strange!!!

I do not know if they ever found the van. But PLEASE do not open your door unless you know who it is. In my way of thinking, no florist would ring someones doorbell at that hour with all the lights out. And if it was legite I would think they would bring the flowers back the next day or call. SCARY !!!!!

[billethkid]

We leave our front garage lights and front entry lights on every night till we go to bed.

We are fortunate (or unfortunate) to have double doors, mostly glass and can easily see who is there.

I also have two little stickers on the door at eye level....one is for the first responders to know where our emergency medical info is if/when they are ever needed. The other sticker professes the premises protected by Smith & Wesson Security System!!!!! ;D

BTK

[Talk Host]

I think you should call the sheriff of your county or Lady Lake police if that's where you live. The gates are suppose to have cameras that record license plates.

You were very wise to not open the door.

What "security" did you call. Neighborhood watch does not have authority to do anything.

[beady]

Needleptdoc;

Thanks for the heads up on your scary experience.

I do believe you were targeted for some sort of break-in. When you answered the door she needed to come up with the reason for ringing your bell. She obviously wasn't very bright, to come up with the flower excuse at that time of night.

Thank goodness you were wise enough to see through the scam and not open the door.

[bargee]

If you come knocking on my door after 9 PM to deliver "flowers" just disregard that soft click you hear on the other side of the door.That will be the round sliding into the chamber.

[samhass]

:bigthumbsup:

Originally Posted by bargee

If you come knocking on my door after 9 PM to deliver "flowers" just disregard that soft click you hear on the other side of the door.That will be the round sliding into the chamber.

[Sidney Lanier]

Very disturbing; important for us to remember that TV may feel like paradise but it's definitely NOT heaven, and 'fecal matter' that can happen 'out there' can certainly happen in TV as well. Always best to be cautious, and you were certainly smart in how you handled this!

[chelsea24]

Thanks for the warning. Information well posted. That is really scary and weird. I wonder how they got through the gates. I agree with all of the above. Thanks again.

[efrahin]

When we were there in December (renting with the intention to buy) I mentioned to the salesman about the non manned gates; he told me that they have cameras to check the plates. It does not seem that that is the case. It's understable that those gates will be very expensive to have then guarded 24 hours a day but I believe that those already living there should demand the cameras to be on all the time, that is not that expensive.

[cabo35]

Talk Host is absolutely right. If the incident has not been reported to the police agency for your jurisdiction, it should be. If it hasn't, I would be glad to make the call if you PM me some details. They will want to confirm the incident with you so they can conduct a followup investigation and alert patrols accordingly.

I assure you they will take it seriously and if it turns out to be a legitimate contact, mistaken residence or just a prank, they will still be happy you reported it and advise you of the outcome accordingly.

Thanks for the heads up.

[ouma1938]

Thanks for the heads up. It is good to remind ourselves that while TV is Paradise for the most part, its still a tough world out there and we have to be careful, always. You handled it very well.

[Hancle704]

Originally Posted by chelsea24

I wonder how they got through the gates.

There is no security provided by the gates. Manned visitor gates get opened for anyone with no questions asked.

[Floridagal]

Would like to know wht even have manned gates or any gates. To me it makes no sense to have these gates when they are not for security.

[nONIE]

Floridagal,

I tend to agree with you. Having to wave our access badge across the gate reader is a royal pain in the you know what and it does absolutely no good in the long run anyway.
Data shows there are no statistical reductions in crime thru the use of security gates.

[captain1202]

We spent 15 years in St Thomas in the vacation business. It's amazing how people take leave of their good safety sense when on vacation (or retired??) in "paradise". The only serious crime problems we ever heard about in St. Thomas were from folks who were walking in bad areas at night, flashed wallets/money at open air markets, etc.. All the stuff you wouldn't do back home in Detroit.

The Villages is a huge magnet to those less fortunate and provides an easy target for breakins, murder and mayhem as history has shown. As the community grows, and the economy goes further south, the problems will increase.

This also goes to a later thread on forged duplicate I.D.'s. If TV is serious about security, and maybe WE need to get more so, perhaps they should be scanning our TV cards and require 2nd I.D. at the gates instead of the rec centers. I guess this could present a problem in some areas (Sumter?) where the roads are public, but it could provide a deterrent and a record of who is coming and going even if they can't legally be prevented from passing through the gate.

If a "bad guy" had to ID themselves and get photographed when they entered, they'd find another place to go. Should this matter be addressed with the VCDD's?