Do Not Store Large Cash Sums at Home

Cash kept at home is only as secure as everyone who has ever had a reason to be inside the house — and that list is usually longer than homeowners think. A La Brea homeowner discovered that $400,000 in cash, stored in envelopes inside a bedroom wardrobe, had disappeared sometime between June 15 and June 22, 2026. Investigators found that several relatives had access to the home during that window, and early inquiries are focused on someone known to the homeowner. Unlike a break-in, there was no forced entry to explain — the money vanished from a location that everyone with legitimate access already knew about. Once cash is out of a bank and sitting in a drawer or wardrobe, it is effectively unrecoverable and untraceable if taken, with no serial numbers, photos, or paper trail to support a claim or investigation.

Steps to follow:

• Deposit cash sums beyond your everyday needs into a bank account rather than holding them at home, even temporarily; a few days’ delay in banking is a window of opportunity for anyone with access.
• If you must hold cash at home short-term, do not store it in an obvious location like a bedroom wardrobe, dresser, or drawer that any regular visitor would check first.
• Limit who knows that cash is being kept in the home, including relatives; the fewer people aware of the amount and location, the smaller your exposure.
• Photograph or record serial numbers on large denominations before storing them, so a police report has something concrete to work from if the cash is taken.
• Use a fixed home safe bolted to the structure rather than a portable container, and do not disclose the combination or key location to anyone without a specific need to know.
• If you notice cash missing, report it to police immediately rather than waiting to confirm through further checks — the earlier the report, the narrower the window for identifying who had access.