TikTok influencer Tabitha Swatosh’s moving nightmare has taken another surprising turn – after she was forced to change the locks on her new home due to a major security lapse.
The 24-year-old, who has been diligently documenting her move from Los Angeles to Nashville, TN, has faced a number of obstacles during her relocation.
It started when the house she was supposed to rent was sold out from under her, just days before she was supposed to move in.
After days of uncertainty, Swatosh – who is known online as Tabs – managed to find a new flat to rent.
However, her joy at moving into the property was short-lived when she made the huge mistake of flashing her front door keys to her millions of followers in a video documenting her first day in the house.
In the clip, an excited Swatosh can be seen telling her 14.9 million followers that she has installed gas and electricity to the property, and just needs to get the keys before “the house is mine!”
The video then cuts to a clip of the influencer’s boyfriend, Michael Sanzone, and their close friend, singer Alex Warren, packing up her things, before she opens the doors to her new property – beaming with delight her keys to the camera in the process.
Although she obviously thought the act was innocent, some of her followers were quick to point out how easily she had compromised her safety.
First, some users warned that using the same keys as the previous owner can be dangerous because it’s impossible to tell if the former occupants have given up any keys they made.
Second, and perhaps more importantly as far as Swatosh is concerned, sharing an image or video of your keys online can allow would-be thieves and criminals to make a copy, leaving your home at serious risk of a theft.
“Please update your locks, get a security system, stay safe,” one person wrote in response to the clip, while another added: “Remember to change your locks and any door codes!”
“There’s a lot of information that can be gleaned just by looking at a physical key (or the image of one),” warn security experts at Nighthawk Strategies. “Many keys may have an inscription of the brand of lock it is used for, such as Master, Schlage, Kwikset, Brinks, and so on.
“Additionally, the number of ‘bittings’ or raised points on a key can tell an observer how many pins are inside its respective locking mechanism.
“In theory, a criminal could use a photograph of a key to recreate a physical key using various methods, including 3D printing or an internet-based locksmith and key cutting service.”
Thankfully, Swatosh’s mistake didn’t go unnoticed by her loved ones — with her boyfriend later revealing in a video posted to his account that he had set her up at Home Depot to pick up a door lock. clouds for the front door of the house.
“So we just got a new place and within five seconds, Tab already posted the keys, so come with me to Home Depot to replace the locks,” he says, walking into the store.
Once inside, he explains that he wants to “eliminate the hair” altogether to prevent Swatosh from making the same mistake again. He reveals plans to install a keypad and a numeric code.
He then shares a video of himself installing the new lock and keyboard, which took about an hour. The new system appeared to be in good working order once completed.
“That should do the trick,” Sanzone says with a triumphant turn of the door handle.
Swatosh’s new home is located on the outskirts of Nashville — thousands of miles away from her previous home in Tarzana, CA, where she lived with several friends, including Warren and his now-wife, Kouvr Annon.
However, she and her roommates had chosen to end their lease on their shared home at the end of December, she explained in an earlier video, noting that Warren and Annon wanted to move into a new marital home. after they were married in June.
Swatosh and Sanzone decided to follow their friends to Nashville, but their plans fell through when the former was told by her real estate agent that the house she had signed a lease for was sold.
Sharing the news in a tearful TikTok video, she told her followers that she only learned of the shocking development after her movers started packing up all her belongings.
“I’m actually very confused,” she tearfully said in the video. “They have my deposit and in writing. And now my movers are here with nowhere to go. I have nowhere to go.”
Thankfully, just a few days later, her real estate agent managed to get her another property.
“It’s going to be a great fit,” the agent told Swatosh over the phone. “It may not be perfect, it may not be everything you want, but it’s a great house. It will suit you very well. I really think about what you’re looking for, it might even be a better fit for you.”
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Image Source : nypost.com