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Safety Deposit Boxes are a bad idea and you shouldn’t use them: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/19/business/safe-deposit-box-theft.html https://www.nytimes.com/

Safety Deposit Boxes are a bad idea and you shouldn’t use them: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/19/business/safe-deposit-box-theft.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/19/business/safe-deposit-box... I think they’re some sort of pre-internet relic people thought offered more security than they do. Today it seems like banks don’t care about them and don’t want to be in the business. You’re probably better off just having a fire safe box under your bed.

ransom1538 5y ago
Remember you can insure a safety deposit box.
christophilus 5y ago
If you own your home, there are a great many places to hide valuables that are unlikely to be found by an average burglar. If you're being targeted by a sophisticated burglar, you've probably got other problems, anyway. Garden beds, somewhere in your crawlspace, beneath a compost pile, etc are all fine places to stash things. It might be time to go back the good ol' days of treasure maps (only half joking).
- NDizzle 5y ago
  Me, personally, my wealth is in the my wood scrap storage in the loft of my shop. Great returns on investments this year alone!!! Cash under the mattress is now antiquated. It's all about lumber, baby.
  - stickfigure 5y ago
    My wealth is buried in a field on my property. Gold, diamonds, cash! It's spread out in a configuration similar to where you would put piping for lawn sprinklers. Email me for a schematic and hours that I will not be home.
    - BuyMyBitcoins 5y ago
      As a slob, my valuables are safely tucked away under piles of junk. Security through obscurity works wonders in the physical realm.
    - scoopertrooper 5y ago
      Would you mind dropping them off at my place? I'm a bit too busy for a treasure hunt this weekend.
  - splistud 5y ago
    I'm considering selling my home for parts
- toast0 5y ago
  Just don't stash things in your oven (unless it really can't heat up). One might think it's great because it's heat resistant, and a burglar is unlikely to open it, and that's true; but, there's a non-zero chance of a guest turning it on with the intent of baking something, without checking if it's empty.
  - speeder 5y ago
    My mom actually bought a new laptop, stashed it in the oven to go to the dentist (the laptop was 1 day old!), got home, and turned oven on to cook something.
    - BuyMyBitcoins 5y ago
      On the bright side, the motherboard’s solder was reflowed.
  - ultrastable 5y ago
    similarly, don't hide stuff in the freezer - it seems like a clever place that nobody will think to look in, but everybody else has had the same thought & it's one of the first places anyone even remotely experienced will search
gruez 5y ago
>You’re probably better off just having. A fire safe box under your bed. Not really. You're trading one threat (negligence on the part of the bank) for another (your home getting robbed/burgled).
- AnthonyMouse 5y ago
  > You're trading one threat (negligence on the part of the bank) for another (your home getting robbed/burgled). Only one of these are you in any control over. Banks are also bigger targets. Bank robber Willie Sutton was famously asked why he robbed banks. "Because that's where the money is," he said. That's the problem with putting all the valuables together in one place. Meanwhile you can't so easily get your stuff caught up in some robbery or "investigation" of somebody you have nothing to do with.
- nimos 5y ago
  If you own your own home it would be pretty trivial to hide something that wouldn't get noticed in most burglaries. The average burglary is 10 minutes. They aren't digging into insulation in your attic or going through multiple boxes of kids clothes in your basement. I imagine most safes get burgled because their owner can't keep their mouth shut.
- brobdingnagians 5y ago
  As someone else mentioned, the civil asset forfeiture has surpassed burglary. With that continuing to increase, it might actually be statistically safer to keep it under your bed than at the bank's safety deposit. I guess it depends on a deeper analysis, but with just that info it starts to become comparable.
  - gowld 5y ago
    This is absolutely false. "forfeiture" has surpassed burglary; and most of that is criminal forfeiture, after a conviction, returning stolen property or paying a fine. The biggest single chunk is what Bernie Madoff stole. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/11/23/cops-took-more-stuff-from-people-than-burglars-did-last-year/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/11/23/cops-...
jandrese 5y ago
It seems the boxes themselves aren't so bad, but when your stuff gets removed by accident and sent off to a warehouse there is a much higher chance of loss. The warehouse seems to be the problem, even though the packages are inventoried before being sent out.
MeinBlutIstBlau 5y ago
They are fine. They are 100% convenience and nothing more. The only thing is (much like a yubi key), you need the key, you can only access it during banking hours, and generally requires an ID. So I fail to see how this is bad. It's far cheaper and easier than buying a garbage $300 safe that someone can jack open with a crowbar. The shittiest thing is if a teller messes up and just let's someone who stole your key from your box, you're SOL. It's like the scene in Casino where De Niro's wife is clearing out the box. The bank manager couldn't stop her cause legally he had to let her in.
- Rapzid 5y ago
  > the only thing is (much like a yubi key), you need the key The bank can do an extended identity verification and drill the lock out for a fee.
  - MeinBlutIstBlau 5y ago
    Banks also don't just drill it out for anyone who asks...
paulpauper 5y ago
I dunno how anyone could think giving access your valuables to a government-run institution can ever be a good idea. The incentives are so misaligned.
TimJRobinson 5y ago
They are protection against a wrench attack. If I had valuables in my house somebody could point a gun at me and I'd probably hand them over, but they can't do that if they're in a guarded safe downtown.
- LinuxBender 5y ago
  Or bury things 20 feet down. [1] [2] Seal the items in a tube surrounded by AirCrete to avoid detection and water damage. Cut a notch to remind you where to cut the container open safely. [1] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5L4EjtXyg6k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5L4EjtXyg6k [video, auger] [2] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zo7yu84s7Dc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zo7yu84s7Dc [video, rock auger]

ransom1538 5y ago

Remember you can insure a safety deposit box.

christophilus 5y ago

If you own your home, there are a great many places to hide valuables that are unlikely to be found by an average burglar. If you're being targeted by a sophisticated burglar, you've probably got other problems, anyway. Garden beds, somewhere in your crawlspace, beneath a compost pile, etc are all fine places to stash things. It might be time to go back the good ol' days of treasure maps (only half joking).

NDizzle 5y ago
Me, personally, my wealth is in the my wood scrap storage in the loft of my shop. Great returns on investments this year alone!!! Cash under the mattress is now antiquated. It's all about lumber, baby.
- stickfigure 5y ago
  My wealth is buried in a field on my property. Gold, diamonds, cash! It's spread out in a configuration similar to where you would put piping for lawn sprinklers. Email me for a schematic and hours that I will not be home.
  - BuyMyBitcoins 5y ago
    As a slob, my valuables are safely tucked away under piles of junk. Security through obscurity works wonders in the physical realm.
  - scoopertrooper 5y ago
    Would you mind dropping them off at my place? I'm a bit too busy for a treasure hunt this weekend.
- splistud 5y ago
  I'm considering selling my home for parts
toast0 5y ago
Just don't stash things in your oven (unless it really can't heat up). One might think it's great because it's heat resistant, and a burglar is unlikely to open it, and that's true; but, there's a non-zero chance of a guest turning it on with the intent of baking something, without checking if it's empty.
- speeder 5y ago
  My mom actually bought a new laptop, stashed it in the oven to go to the dentist (the laptop was 1 day old!), got home, and turned oven on to cook something.
  - BuyMyBitcoins 5y ago
    On the bright side, the motherboard’s solder was reflowed.
- ultrastable 5y ago
  similarly, don't hide stuff in the freezer - it seems like a clever place that nobody will think to look in, but everybody else has had the same thought & it's one of the first places anyone even remotely experienced will search

gruez 5y ago

>You’re probably better off just having. A fire safe box under your bed. Not really. You're trading one threat (negligence on the part of the bank) for another (your home getting robbed/burgled).

AnthonyMouse 5y ago
> You're trading one threat (negligence on the part of the bank) for another (your home getting robbed/burgled). Only one of these are you in any control over. Banks are also bigger targets. Bank robber Willie Sutton was famously asked why he robbed banks. "Because that's where the money is," he said. That's the problem with putting all the valuables together in one place. Meanwhile you can't so easily get your stuff caught up in some robbery or "investigation" of somebody you have nothing to do with.
nimos 5y ago
If you own your own home it would be pretty trivial to hide something that wouldn't get noticed in most burglaries. The average burglary is 10 minutes. They aren't digging into insulation in your attic or going through multiple boxes of kids clothes in your basement. I imagine most safes get burgled because their owner can't keep their mouth shut.
brobdingnagians 5y ago
As someone else mentioned, the civil asset forfeiture has surpassed burglary. With that continuing to increase, it might actually be statistically safer to keep it under your bed than at the bank's safety deposit. I guess it depends on a deeper analysis, but with just that info it starts to become comparable.
- gowld 5y ago
  This is absolutely false. "forfeiture" has surpassed burglary; and most of that is criminal forfeiture, after a conviction, returning stolen property or paying a fine. The biggest single chunk is what Bernie Madoff stole. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/11/23/cops-took-more-stuff-from-people-than-burglars-did-last-year/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/11/23/cops-...

jandrese 5y ago

It seems the boxes themselves aren't so bad, but when your stuff gets removed by accident and sent off to a warehouse there is a much higher chance of loss. The warehouse seems to be the problem, even though the packages are inventoried before being sent out.

MeinBlutIstBlau 5y ago

They are fine. They are 100% convenience and nothing more. The only thing is (much like a yubi key), you need the key, you can only access it during banking hours, and generally requires an ID. So I fail to see how this is bad. It's far cheaper and easier than buying a garbage $300 safe that someone can jack open with a crowbar. The shittiest thing is if a teller messes up and just let's someone who stole your key from your box, you're SOL. It's like the scene in Casino where De Niro's wife is clearing out the box. The bank manager couldn't stop her cause legally he had to let her in.

Rapzid 5y ago
> the only thing is (much like a yubi key), you need the key The bank can do an extended identity verification and drill the lock out for a fee.
- MeinBlutIstBlau 5y ago
  Banks also don't just drill it out for anyone who asks...

paulpauper 5y ago

I dunno how anyone could think giving access your valuables to a government-run institution can ever be a good idea. The incentives are so misaligned.

TimJRobinson 5y ago

They are protection against a wrench attack. If I had valuables in my house somebody could point a gun at me and I'd probably hand them over, but they can't do that if they're in a guarded safe downtown.

LinuxBender 5y ago
Or bury things 20 feet down. [1] [2] Seal the items in a tube surrounded by AirCrete to avoid detection and water damage. Cut a notch to remind you where to cut the container open safely. [1] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5L4EjtXyg6k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5L4EjtXyg6k [video, auger] [2] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zo7yu84s7Dc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zo7yu84s7Dc [video, rock auger]