“Fast-forward to 2015, and a dorm room is a veritable treasure trove of expensive gear. Two roommates might have more than $6,000 worth of electronics—laptop or tablet, smartphone, gaming system—and other items, such as a musical instrument or a fancy coffeemaker, in their small space. And apparently a lot of that stuff goes missing.” …
https://homes.yahoo.com/news/3-easy-ways-prevent-theft-campus-120000791.html
Easy way #0 should be to lock your door whenever you leave your place, don’t leave the main door of the building propped open, and don’t leave your stuff unattended (e.g. in the library or other place) where thieves can easily steal it.
Also, lock your door when you sleep. I remember one night when my roommate was away for the weekend I woke up to someone entering my room at about 5 in the morning. Took a year off my life to turn around and open your eyes to a tall, muscular guy making his way to your bed.
(Sprang out of bed and told him to “get the [expletive] out of my room”, and he did–but I’m a pretty tall guy who lifts. He was just a drunk, confused teen who didn’t mean any harm; but I now lock my door whenever I go to sleep. My laptop, cell phone, and wallet were all exposed on my desk.)
I thought this list was common sense honestly, and some seems a bit paranoid to me. If you keep your stuff on you or in your room, and lock your room (something I assumed everyone does whenever they leave or frankly close the door), I don’t see any need for hidden containers or computer anchors excluding maybe a small safe for stuff like incredibly valuable personal items if you really need the peace of mind.
Is this actually a big problem? I haven’t heard of a single case of it at my school personally in a year.
When I was in college many years ago, theft was reportedly common, generally through unlocked doors. Apparently, enough students grew up in low crime areas so that they were not used to locking doors.
Good advice. Lock the door, know your neighbors well and if your campus allows it have some firepower on hand.