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Sinister or loving? Tissue in door sparks fierce debate online

A Melbourne resident’s odd discovery on their front door has sparked an interesting debate online, with people either pointing the finger at potential robbers or a friendly relative.

An image of what appears to be a tissue tucked into the fly screen door was posted to a Facebook page for the Epping suburb over the weekend.

“From a local: This was found on front door when coming home 11pm on Narina Way, wondering if anyone saw anyone suspicious around this time?” the social media page’s admin wrote.

Members of the group were quick to throw in their two cents about what the neatly folded tissue could mean.

The tissue is seen tied to the fly screen. Source: Facebook
The Epping resident found the tissue tied to their fly screen. Source: Facebook

Some were even worried it was a tactic used by thieves to mark that no one was home.

“Be careful. There’s been robberies in Epping. My in-law’s home in Epping got robbed on Wednesday this week,” one woman said.

“Looks like a tag saying nobody is home need to report it,” a man wrote.

Is it a European tradition?

Numerous others said it was simply a European tradition and that relatives often leave signs they had stopped by when no one was home.

“Nona came to visit,” another man said.

“It’s a European thing...they came to visit. Usually a flower but tissue will do,” a second person chimed in.

One woman encouraged the resident to reach out to their friends to see if anyone was responsible.

Suspicious marks appearing on the front door of a home or near the home is one of the top 10 signs robbers are watching the property, according to Gill Security.

Victoria Police told Yahoo News Australia they are mot aware of “this being used as a way for burglars to mark whether someone is home/has returned home” despite speculation.

“This particular photo of a tissue tucked in the fly screen door is incredibly common among some communities, my family included, as a way to say ‘I dropped in, but you weren’t home.’ The item in the door is often a flower/leaf or similar,” the spokesperson said.

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