It's not the typical smash and grab job and Gilbert police say the town has been hit by a crafty crook.
"They drive around looking for these opportunities," said Gilbert Police Sgt. Jesse Sanger.
Since November, a possible serial garage burglar has been striking about twice a week.
It starts by forgetting to lock your car.
“It's pretty scary," said Sgt. Sanger. "They can open up that service door and could be in the house rummaging through personal items inside the residence," added Sgt. Sanger.
The garage door opener is the key to the house.
Police say the thief looks for unlocked cars, grabs the garage door opener inside, and then takes whatever he wants.
One person came face to face with the thief and chased him off.
"The seat was pushed back, I'm the only one who drives it and you could see that things had been moved around in my glove compartment," said Anita Anti, who lives in Gilbert.
Anti says nothing was taken, but it's unnerving to know someone violated her belongings.
"It didn't sound like they found what they were looking for, which was the garage door clicker," said Jeff Anti.
