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Spanish police reissue advice to check if your home has been targeted by burglars
Tricks include markers to indicate whether the front door has been opened or the occupants are away
Every summer, when many homes across Spain are left empty while the occupants go on holiday, burglars take advantage to break in and steal people’s valuables.
And every summer, police warn the public to look out for tell-tale markers left on their front doors, which indicate that their home has been identified by criminals as a potential target.
Always trying to bring their message to a wider audience, the National Police have posted a video on social networks, including Facebook and TikTok, warning residents to take precautions, especially if they are going away, even just for a couple of days.
If, when you get back, you see a thread of silicon between the door and the frame, or a piece of plastic falls out when you open the door, thieves have marked the door so they can tell if the occupants are out of the house, officers explain.
Thieves like these return to check whether the plastic is still in place, because this means that nobody has opened the door, the house is empty and they can burgle it.
Methods like these have been used by criminals for decades, and also include surveilling residents, compiling information about them (times they typically go out and return, notable belongings, etc.) and examining every movement in the surrounding area so that they can design their plan.
But leaving these small, almost undetectable indicators to confirm whether front doors have been opened are a more recent development.
The National Police recommend that anyone who finds an indicator such as this should leave it in place and call the authorities before even opening the door and especially before entering the house.
They should also look out for anything else that seems suspicious or out of place. In France, for example, there have been reports of notebooks being left in gardens to see if they are removed.
Other techniques used in Spain have included leaving letters in the mailbox or packages outside doors, etc.
Image: Policía Nacional / Facebook
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