How to Tell If Someone Is Stealing Your Utilities
As the cost of water, electricity and internet service rises , it’s understandable to want to find a way to get it cheaper or even free, but that doesn’t mean you have to make excuses for a neighbor or other nefarious person stealing it. your utilities to your advantage.
The most difficult aspect of utility theft is how easy it is to not even notice it’s happening, since most of us only have a vague idea of how much utilities generally cost, let alone what our typical usage looks like. Whether you have reason to suspect you’re funding someone else’s lifestyle or not, here’s how to tell if someone is stealing your utilities.
Check your payment history
The easiest and most obvious sign that someone is stealing any utilities is a sudden, unexplained jump in your bill . If your behavior hasn’t changed and your electricity or water bills are suddenly much higher than usual, you either have an infrastructure problem (like a leaky pipe) or an unscrupulous neighbor has tapped into your water supply. Always keep a close eye on your bills, especially if you have automatic payments set up.
While water and power surges show up in increased volume, your Internet bills won’t be very helpful in detecting freeloaders unless they’re eating up so much data that you’re exceeding your Internet Service Provider’s (ISP) data limit.
Otherwise, look for the following signs that are specific to each resource:
How to Tell If Someone is Stealing Your Electricity
Electricity is actually quite easy to steal, with an estimated $100 billion worth of electricity being stolen worldwide each year. If you notice a spike in your electricity bill that you can’t explain based on your own consumption (for example, you didn’t start mining cryptocurrency in your basement), inspect your home for obvious signs of electricity theft:
-
External sockets. The easiest and dumbest way to steal your electricity is to simply plug an extension cord into an outside outlet and run it into your home.
-
Splices. Take a look at where electricity passes from the street into your home. Any strange-looking connections, clamps, or amateurish wiring are a potential sign of theft, especially if that loose connection then ends up in a neighbor’s house. Don’t touch anything during the inspection as electricity can 100% kill you. If you see anything unusual, call your utility provider.
-
Check your meter. The last check you can safely do yourself is to go to the meter and turn off all circuit breakers. Then watch the meter: if it continues to rise, then something is still drawing power from your connection.
If someone is using your outside outlets, consider installing an outlet lockout cover to stop it, or find out which circuit breaker controls those outlets and turn off the power until you need it. For any other suspected power theft, call the utility company and consider notifying the police, as documenting the problem will help you dispute any overbilling.
How to Tell If Someone is Stealing Your Water
You don’t think much about the miracle of drinking water in your house… until your bill suddenly doubles what it was last month – or you come home from vacation to find your neighbors filled your pool and your water bill mysteriously tripled.
Even if the theft is less dramatic, there are a few clues to look for to detect water theft :
-
Low pressure. If your previously stable water pressure has suddenly become anemic, you should have a plumber check your pipes. If they can’t find a reason, it’s time to get suspicious.
-
Unexplained excavations. Have you noticed mysterious traces of excavations on your site? It’s time to explore these areas and see if anyone is stuck in the water pipe.
-
Sprinklers and hoses. If you have a sprinkler system or outdoor hose connection, take a close look to see if anyone has connected the hose or sprinkler line.
Just like with electricity, the easiest way to steal someone’s water is to connect a hose to an outdoor faucet. Turning off your outdoor water supply when you are not actively using it and/or installing a shut-off valve can help guard against such tactics. For more complex thefts, call your utility company.
How to Tell If Someone is Stealing Your Internet
The Federal Communications Commission recently reclassified Internet service as a public service (again), which makes sense: These days, you can’t function properly in society without a working Internet connection. Of course, your Wi-Fi network is just up in the air, which means people can intercept your signal and steal the internet you’re paying for.
There are several signs that may indicate that someone is stealing your connection:
-
Slow speeds. You know what internet speed you are paying for. If you’ve recently experienced a noticeable drop in speed (large buffering, video stuttering, or lag), confirm it with a speed test , then contact your ISP. If there’s nothing wrong on their end, it could be your router or modem, or it could be a thief hogging your bandwidth.
-
Data limit exceeded. If your ISP has set a data limit on your account and you receive a notification that you’ve exceeded it for the first time, it could be a sign that someone is cutting off your connection. Change your Wi-Fi password (or set one) so they are not on your network.
-
Unknown devices on your network. You can see all the devices connected to your Wi-Fi network by either logging into your router’s admin panel or using an app like Fing or WiFi Guard . First, count all the devices you use—computers, phones, laptops, tablets, smart devices—and match them to the list on your router. If you find any files that are unfamiliar to you, download them and change your password immediately.
How to Tell If Someone is Stealing Your Streaming Services
A related form of theft involves your streaming services. While this is becoming increasingly difficult as the era of password sharing comes to an end , it is still possible , especially if a thief has broken into your Wi-Fi and is watching your streamers on your network. There are a few subtle signs that this may be happening:
-
Algorithm. If you start seeing unfamiliar titles in the “Continue Watching” section or your list of recommended titles starts to include stuff you would never in a million years watch, it’s time to check your account.
-
Unknown profiles. It’s easy to get into the habit of looking at the “who’s watching” page on your streaming service, but it’s helpful to keep track of the profiles you see. If there are any that you don’t remember creating, it’s time to explore.
-
Bill is changing. If your streamer is set to autopay, you may not even notice if someone has logged in and updated your account to allow multiple profiles or exclude ads for your money.
If you find someone using your hard-earned money to stream, you’ll obviously have to log out of all devices, change your password, delete those profiles, and then log back in everywhere.