A former burglar has revealed the one mistake that nearly everybody makes as he shares tips for keeping your home safe.
Being burgled is one of the scariest things that can happen in life, as it can make your home feel unsafe, while in some cases the burglars might be more interested in you than the luxury items you own.
One Spanish influencer recently saw some expensive items stolen amid a spate of burglaries in Marbella, and it seems as if more and more people are being targeted by criminals.
Fortunately, even if you don't live in a mansion with security gates or have a gigantic dog to keep you safe, there are plenty of steps you can take to ensure burglars can't enter your home.
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Police have long recruited reformed criminals to help them reduce crime and Michael Fraser, a former burglar and now top security expert, has revealed one of the key mistakes that people make.
In a video for West Midlands Police, he said: "Distraction burglary, very clever, but you won't be caught out. Keep your door locked, and put the chain on. Ask them to push their ID through the letterbox. You can then check them out. If in doubt, keep them out."
So, the key thing for the security expert is making sure you don't let burglars into your house or learn anything about you or your security, when they could easily be pretending to be someone that they're not. The safest thing to do is to not let anyone you don't know get a look inside and as he recommends, ask for some ID first.
West Midlands Police added: "Making sure windows are locked, keeping valuables out of sight and investing in a decent lock for your shed – these are all quick and easy ways to put an opportunistic criminal off."
In another video, where Michael has a GoPro attached to his head, he picks a house at random and finds four huge errors on the homeowners part in just four minutes.
He finds a letter with the homeowners details on in a bin, while all the bins are placed next to each other and close to a roof, which could provide an easy chance for them to get up onto the roof where a window has been left open.
Michael also easily gets into a back garden, where a shed is also left unlocked and inside he finds bikes and golf clubs, both of which represent easy targets for any competent burglar.
There are plenty of other ways you can protect yourself from burglars, with another former criminal sharing six common mistakes that people make when it comes to keeping their possessions safe.
James Moorhouse