As the cost of water, power, and internet services rise, it’s understandable to want to find a way to get them for less, or even free—but that doesn’t mean you have to excuse a neighbor or other nefarious individual leeching off of your utilities to their benefit.
The most challenging aspect of utilities theft is how easy it is to not even notice that it’s happening, as most of us have only a fuzzy idea of how much utilities cost in the first place, let alone what our normal 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 billing history
The easiest and most obvious sign that someone is stealing any utility is a sudden, inexplicable spike in your bill. If your behavior hasn’t changed and your power or water bill is suddenly much higher than usual, you either have a problem with the infrastructure (such as a leaking pipe) or an unscrupulous neighbor tapping into your supply. Always pay close attention to your bills, especially if you have automatic payments set up.
While water and power spikes show up as increased volume, internet bills won’t be very useful in detecting a freeloader unless they’re sucking up so much data that you blow past your Internet Service Provider’s (ISP) data cap.
Otherwise, look for these signs, specific to each resource:
How to tell if someone is stealing your electricity
Electricity is actually pretty easy to steal—it’s estimated that close to $100 billion worth of electricity theft occurs worldwide every year. If you see a spike in your electricity bill that you can’t explain based on your own usage (for example, you haven’t started a crypto mining operation in your basement), inspect your home for some obvious signs of power theft:
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Exterior outlets. The simplest, dumbest way people can steal your power is to just plug an extension cord into an exterior outlet and run it to their home.
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Splices. Take a look at the spot where the power runs from the street into your home. Any odd-looking splices, clamps, or amateurish wiring is a potential sign of theft, especially if that janky connection then runs into a neighbor’s home. Don’t touch anything during your inspection, as electricity can 100% kill you. If you see something that looks off, call your utility provider.
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Check your meter. A final check you can safely perform yourself is to go to your meter and turn off all the circuit breakers. Then watch the meter—if it continues to go up, something is still pulling power from your connection.
If someone’s using your exterior outlets, consider installing a locking outlet cover to stop it, or figure out which circuit breaker controls those outlets and cut the power until you need it yourself. For any other suspected power theft, call your utility—and consider notifying the police as well, 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 having potable water piped into your home…until your bill is suddenly twice as much as it was last month—or you come home from vacation to find your neighbors have filled their pool and your water bill has mysteriously tripled.
Even if the theft is less dramatic, there are a few hints to look for to spot water theft:
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Low pressure. If your formerly robust water pressure suddenly becomes anemic, you should have a plumbing professional check your pipes. If they can’t find any cause, it’s time to get suspicious.
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Unexplained digging. Have you noticed mysterious signs of digging on your property? It’s time to investigate those spots and see if someone has tied into a water line.
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Sprinklers and hoses. If you have a sprinkler system or an outdoor hose spigot, take a close look to see if someone has patched into the hose or the sprinkler line.
As with electricity, the easiest way to steal someone’s water is to hook up a hose to an outdoor spigot. Turning off the outdoor water supply unless you’re actively using it and/or installing a spigot lock can help defend against those tactics. For more sophisticated thefts, call your utility.
How to tell if someone is stealing your internet
The Federal Communications Commission recently reclassified internet service as a public utility (again), which makes sense: These days you can’t function well in society without a usable internet connection. Of course, your wifi network is just, you know, out there, in the air, and that means people can glom onto your signal and steal the internet you’re paying for.
There are some signs to look for that can hint that someone is stealing your connection:
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Slow speeds. You know the internet speeds you’re paying for. If there’s been a recent, noticeable drop in speeds (lots of buffering, stuttering video, or lag), confirm this with a speed test, then contact your provider. If there’s nothing wrong on their end, it could be your router or modem—or it could be a thief soaking up your bandwidth.
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Exceeded data cap. If your ISP has a data cap on your account and you receive a notice that you’ve exceeded it for the first time ever, this could be a sign that someone is leeching off your connection. Change your wifi password (or set one up) to keep them off your network.
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Unknown devices on your network. You can see all the devices connected to your WiFi network either by logging into your router’s administration panel or by using an app like Fing or WiFi Guard. First, count up all the devices that you use—computers, phones, laptops, tablets, smart devices—and match them to the list on your router. If you find any that you don’t recognize, boot them off—and change your password, pronto.
How to tell if someone is stealing your streaming services
A related form of theft involves your streaming services. While this is getting harder to do as the age of password sharing ends, it’s still possible—especially if the thief has infiltrated your wifi and is watching your streamers on your network. There are a few subtle signs that this might be happening:
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The algorithm. If you start seeing unfamiliar titles under “continue watching” or your recommended titles list starts to include stuff you’d never watch in a million years, it’s time to check the account.
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Unknown profiles. It’s easy to get into the habit of blowing through the “who’s watching” page on your streaming service, but it’s a good practice to track the profiles you see. If there are any you don’t remember creating, it’s time to investigate.
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Bill changes. If you have your streamer set to autopay, you might not even notice if someone has gone in and upgraded your account in order to allow multiple profiles or to eliminate advertising on your dime.
If you find someone piggybacking on your hard-earned streaming money, you’ll obviously need to log out of all devices, change your password, delete those profiles, and then log back in everywhere.
