SAN ANTONIO – He was a thief for over a decade, robbing houses for a quick payday. His first name is Mark, and he doesn't want his last name known.
Mark said he's probably broken into more than 100 houses. He came downtown to a house KSAT picked out.
The plan was to figure out exactly how he would rob the home and show what the homeowner is doing right -- and doing wrong.
"Automatically, the first thing that they're doing right is they're showing a minimal amount in their front," said Mark.
Homes that show valuables, whether it be nice toys in the yard or expensive furniture on the porch, suggest nicer stuff inside.
Social media helps, too. Someone who writes that they're "on vacation" makes their house an easy target, Mark said.
"You can tell by the wear and tear, you see how there's a lot of jiggle room, that's enough room for me to stick a flat-head screwdriver in it and just pop it open," said Mark, of the significant gap between the door frame and the door.
Older doors typically don't have reinforced frames, making forced entry easy.
But before he would break in, an alarm system slowed him down. So he searched for and found a specific set of wires around the back of the house.
"I try to cut the main wires to the power supply, and after that the telephone wires," said Mark, of his technique.
Most alarm systems send a signal through phone lines when someone breaks in. Cut the wires, and a crook is essentially alone.
Mark's simulated break-in was easy after that. He went through the home and picked out what he would take.
He pointed out TVs, jewelry, a surround sound system, and the refrigerator among other things.
He said he would have trashed everything, including closets, dressers, and even a large armoire in the bedroom. He worked his way from back to front.
Personal documents are at risk, too. Any bank statements, social security cards, and passports were all fair game, and Mark quickly found all three.
"That's identity theft. I could sell it to all kinds of people, I could forge documents, open up accounts, use up accounts, get out loans," said Mark.
After that, all the stuff would go out the back, to a waiting truck.
From there it would be loaded up and sold quickly to a buyer Mark would have lined up beforehand.
It might seem a bit hopeless, but Mark said you have to be proactive in prevention.
"There's a lot of simple things you can do to your home, even as simple as maybe providing a fence around your yard," said Mark.
Tips include putting a lock on your electrical box, keeping your valuables inside and your blinds shut. Make sure your entryways are new and strong. The overall point is to make it difficult for a thief.
Mark argued that crooks typically take the path of least resistance, and if you make your house a hard target, criminals will pass it up.