Toronto lawn sign thanks burglar for not stealing anything

A mysterious sign erected on the lawn of a North York property has neighbours raising their eyebrows this week, as it appears to thank a burglar.

As a reporter discovered, the "careful burglar" who received this strange message wasn't really a burglar at all. Homeowner Roy Abraham told the Toronto Star someone broke into his house on July 12 but for reasons unknown, took nothing at all.

[ Related: Mother-daughter duo charged for post office robbery ]

A picture of the sign made it to Reddit, where users puzzled about why someone would thank a thief. Or was it sarcastic? Abraham posted the sign out of sincere appreciation to the almost-burglar for not destroying his home, according to the Star.

"It's entertaining to think about the interaction at the print shop where this was made," one comment on Reddit said. The manager at Freeman & Peter Signs, where Abraham ordered the sign, did tell the Star he thought the request was strange, and Abraham said staff was "amused."

[ More Buzz: Chef denied New Zealand visa because he's too fat ]

Another lawn message to thieves in Georgia earlier in July wasn't quite so friendly.

The Ledger-Enquirer reported the tenants of a home in Columbus, fed up after multiple robberies, posted several homemade signs with a message to the persistent burglars.

"If you're gonna rob and gonna steal everything from me at least cut my grass," the signs said.

(Photo credit: Imgur)