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by dipesh101 in Uncategorized
Posted on February 25, 2010 at 11:19 am
Somebody took the picture of my house from the car early in the morning today, is there anything for me to worry about? What should I do? I am a new somerville resident.
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Anyone can take a picture of anyone’s house at any time from the street (not trespassing on your property). Google and Zillow and the city assessor’s database already have such pictures. I don’t see anything to be concerned about here.
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Panic. Definitely panic.
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The fact that it is legal to capture an image of a house, that such images already exist, or that there are numerous legitimate reasons to do so does not obviate the subject’s concern (more accurately, the subject’s occupant’s concern). It is not as though Dipesh101 had been visited by the Welcome Wagon. In an age when municipalities stealthily install surveillance cameras in public places with DHS funds; parking control officers know when residents’ vehicles have not moved in 48 hours; and schools have access to anything that occurs within range of students’ ‘loaner’laptops’ webcams;it is prudent to ask questions such as those asked by the writer, not paranoid.
I would wonder: Does the City have a new campaign against suspected property tax cheats, or is this simply how and when the City substantiates violations of the Trash Ordinance? Are you a known subversive?
I would say that if you can rule out that you’re being stalked, you probaby need not worry. And in case you’ve not been told lately, Welcome To Somerville- truly.
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I also know that real estate agents do this to compare houses.
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When we were planning to have our house painted, I admit that I walked around taking pictures of houses with color schemes that I really liked (to show our painter). So even if it’s just a private citizen taking pictures, it could easily be harmless.
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Don’t worry–just do the basic safety things of keeping your house secure.
It’s probably just some guy taking pictures for one of a hundred different reasons. But it’s always better to be safe!
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I would have “mooned” him.
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They are doing trash violations with photos nowadays, we got a nice $50 ticket in the mail along with a photo of our house and trash cans after we left them out on the wrong day one week. Was it a trash day for you? (Or did you think it was?)
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