Protect against burglars

As the days get shorter and darkness descends earlier every day, householders are being warned to be wary of distraction crimes.
Guarding against distraction crime.Guarding against distraction crime.
Guarding against distraction crime.

They’re the sort of crimes where callers gain access to the home and steal while the householder is distracted.

And more than 17,000 distraction burglaries occur every year.

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Burglars impersonate an authority figure, or work in pairs one distracting the homeowner while an accomplice gains access to the property through an alternative entry point.

Security experts Yale have three top tips to prevent burglars getting in:

· lock all your outer doors before answering the front door to someone you don’t know, to prevent a burglar sneaking in another door while you are distracted at the front. For extra security, ensure all door locks comply with British Standards.

· secure your front door using a chain and only release the door chain if you are satisfied that the visitor is who they say they are and have provided a proper form of identification to prove the purpose of their visit

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· think about installing a Digital Door Viewer to see who is there without having to open the door.

Hannah Adkins, Marketing Executive for Yale, stressed the importance: “The majority of visitors mean no harm, so it’s terrible to hear that so many people are being affected by bogus callers, especially as the evenings are getting darker.

“Burglars won’t go to the trouble of breaking in if they can just knock and be invited in. Unfortunately offenders often target innocent, vulnerable people including elderly homeowners, so it’s important to be vigilant when answering your door.”