When someone breaks into your house, it’s usually in the middle of the night—a masked, anonymous man swipes your jewelry before fleeing in an unmarked car. Right?

Nope. Myths about burglars abound, says Dr. Joseph Kuhns, a professor of criminology at the University of North Carolina. The reality is that one in four robberies involve a known associate or the homeowner or renter, many robberies take place during the afternoon—female robbers, and there are plenty, tend to prefer this time—and most often the victim’s medicine cabinet is the real target, Kuhns says. He authored a 2013 paper on robbers’ preferences after numerous interviews with 422 people convicted of larceny (however, he admits, a home alarm system firm did assist in funding the study).

“Most burglaries are drug-involved,” says Kuhns. And, as news reports pile up about the opioid epidemic, they aren't going away. “It wouldn’t surprise me if the opioid problems would manifest in a rise in burglary,” he says.

But there are ways to thwart thieves. First off, there are some easy home hacks that can make your pad less vulnerable.

“From an engineering perspective, deterring home invasions means implementing upgrades or features that eliminate easy means of entry with minimal force,” says Joe Derhake, CEO of Partner Engineering and Science, an engineering consultancy. “This includes securing egress exits such as ground-floor windows and doors, installing bars on vulnerable windows, strong professional deadbolts with a deep box-strike, and sturdy door frames of solid wood, fiberglass, and metal composition.”

Deadbolt locks are key, experts (which include burglars themselves) agree. A 2015 Reddit post asked burglars how to keep your house from getting cased up. The consensus was that any lock other than a deadbolt can be easily disengaged, often with just a credit card. Equipment to disengage even somewhat sophisticated locks can often be purchased online or at the right specialty goods store. Nothing short of an actual deadbolt is an obstacle.

There are psychological deterrents as well. "Common-sense measures, such as motion-activated lighting, a strong security system, and the presence of a large dog are also very helpful,” says Derhake. Kuhns agrees that all the conventional wisdom is true—make sure that newspapers don’t pile up at your front door, light egress areas well and use “alarms or surveillance equipment [the burglar] can see.”

But the Redditors self-identifying as thieves caution that those intuitive measures can be obvious to a seasoned burglar—or someone in the throes of drug withdrawal who wants to pawn your loot.

One user comments that when all the lights are on in a middle-class home in the middle of the night, it’s obvious the family is away on vacation and trying to dissuade a burglar. And small dogs, the criminals report, are also far more annoying and can therefore be more effective.

Bars on the windows, on the other hand, while aesthetically displeasing, are certainly effective, Kuhns says.

But at the heart of the issue, experts on both sides of the law say, is often who you know, if they have a drug problem, and how easy it is to tell if you’re home.

The burglars of Reddit report that sometimes taxi drivers, restaurant hostesses, and even relatives tip off criminals as to homeowners’ whereabouts. One Redditor put it simply, and it’s probably good advice anyway: “Don't post on Facebook that you are not home and how long you will be out.” Some suggest not sharing vacation photos until you’re home, as well.

Kuhns estimates that one in four robberies is committed by a person acquainted with the victim; another study says that figure is over 60 percent of robberies. So even if you personally know everyone who can see your social media, it's best to avoid oversharing.

And, you aren’t paranoid: Those crafty drug addicts do often don costumes and props to appear like they belong in your neighborhood. “A lot of the time they approach in a uniform or car that says ‘Cable Company’ or something,” Kuhns says.

The biggest risk on the horizon, though, is not the rise in drug abuse, Kuhns says; it's smart-home technologies that let people into your house to deliver items you purchased from the internet.

“That is a burglary waiting to happen,” Kuhns says.