In a clip uploaded to Imgur, the homeowner comes around the corner into his garden, filming a back gate.
He remains silent as he films three men standing by the gate.
One of the men leans on to the gate, using newspaper wrapped around his hands.
It then becomes clear why – he is trying to keep his fingerprints off the gate as the trio attempt to break in.
One of the men uses a crowbar to try and break the lock on the gate while the other two look on.
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The homeowner watches them for a few seconds before making a loud coughing noise with this throat.
All three of the men stop what they are doing and look up quickly.
They then look at each other for a second before making a hasty retreat when they realise they have been caught out.
The clip has gone viral online with thousands of views and comments.
One commenters wrote: “The timing of their hasty retreat after the momentary pause is comedic genius. These fellas are naturals.”
Another said: “The jean jacket guy is a terrible lookout…”
And one joked: “Camera guy, ‘Hey.’ Bad guys pause. ‘Just how stupid are you?’ Bad guys leave.”
This is not the only time a robbery has been stopped by the property owner – one man attempted to break in to a car but suffered instant karma when he was caught by the car owner.
The moment was caught on CCTV and uploaded to Imgur, quickly going viral with over 1.7million views to date.
The clip shows a white car parked on a relatively busy street in America.
A man in a white top and black shorts is crouched by the door on the driver’s side. He can be seen fiddling with the lock on the door handle – but he soon gets interrupted.