Warning About Home Burglars Using Rubber Bands-Unproven!
Summary of eRumor:
A Facebook post warns that burglars are placing rubber bands on door latches to prevent them from locking so the houses can easily be broken into later on.
The Truth:
We weren’t able to track down any warnings from police or news stories about burglars using rubber bands to break into houses.
A warning to watch out for rubber band burglaries that went viral in April 2016 told the story of a woman who heard a strange man pounding on her door and later found that he’d placed a rubber band on her door latch to prevent it from locking if she would have opened it:
Warning!!! Two weeks ago during the day, a hard knock was at my front door, not a regular knock but almost pounding, (I honestly thought something may have happened to someone and they needed help) but something didn’t feel right….and I DO NOT answer the door when I am here by myself. So don’t bother! After several Knocks, they finally left. I glanced and could see it was a man through the stained glass of my door. After about 30 minutes I walked outside to look for what I thought would be a brochure, but instead found a rubber band around my knob to hold the door to open when I unlocked the latch. I called Ron and he told me to get the gun out and leave it out. The Sheriff came by yesterday and said this is happening all of a sudden, as soon as you unlatch the door, they do not wait for you to turn the knob, they can bust in on you. Anyway just be careful, I USE to be such a trusting person, but not at all anymore! So let me just say, I have a GUN and I know how to use it, just FYI, I out shot my husband the last time we target practiced, so believe me, I will use it. I have too much to live for! Do NOT ANSWER doors without knowing for sure you know who is on the other side! Those days are over!!!! ???Kids need to be made aware of this too!
Within days, the post had been viewed nearly 180,000 times, and hundreds of people had commented on it. Some who commented why the would-be burglar would have left the rubber band on the door after nobody answered.
Others questioned whether a rubber band on a door latch would actually prevent a lock from latching (a woman who said she worked in the door hardware industry said it would, if the rubber band applied enough pressure).
We can’t verify whether or not this would work, but we weren’t able to find any instances of this happening (including near Tatum, Texas, where the woman who posted the warning lives).
So, given that we aren’t able to confirm that burglars are actually trying to use rubber bands to break into houses, we’re calling this one unverified.