Why not just drive out to the expensive zip code, and rob the first house that looks empty? Why rob the guy who just bought a thing at the store you're at? What makes him a better target then his neighbor? Or any random house in the area? Who actually burgles when they know people are home?

Are you really surrounded by thieves and killers, and the only thing keeping you safe is that they don't know that you live in a rich part of town?

They know where the rich part of town is... Right?

> Why not just drive out to the expensive zip code, and rob the first house that looks empty?

Presumably because police presence is less, or at least busy, in the less expensive zip code. There isn't just more crime in less affluent areas, it's rampant!

> Are you really surrounded by thieves and killers, and the only thing keeping you safe is that they don't know that you live in a rich part of town?

According to the news, yes, but even that expensive part of town is just a "you won't believe where" teaser away from being right next to you!

In all seriousness, as rational as you consider yourself, it's still an uphill battle against the signals we are bombarded with telling us about all the crime and suffering around us. Humans are great at finding and internalizing patterns from signals, and the pattern here isn't hard to see; the world is getting scarier and scarier every year. Doesn't matter if its true or not, that's still how it feels.

Wouldn't it be easier (and less error prone) to just wait in the parking lot for a fancy car to pull in?

How would you know that this house is not full of family members of the owner? And has this scenario actually happen to anyone? Because I think burglars have better means to be sure which house and when to rob.

Just get a job as a ticketing agent at the airport, you know when people are going on vacation, you know when they're coming back, and most of them show you a driver's license with their address on it when asked for ID.