On Fri, 18 May 2012 21:18:25 -0400, willshak
wrote:

How would he/she know you are home or away?
Does the meter stop running when you leave the house?
I would think it would be easier for them to check the present occupancy
of the home when they are standing at the meter.

Burglars usually just ring the doorbell to see if anyone's home.
Perhaps a bit low tech, but still, it works just fine...