Crime Prevention

On this month’s Crimecall Sergeant Graham Kavanagh was in studio to offer advice and tips to members of the public in relation to the EU Focus Day on Domestic Burglaries which occurred on Wednesday June 19th. Sergeant Kavanagh discussed the relevant information listed below and offered advice and tips to the public on how best to keep their personal belonging and property safe.

• 1 in 4 residential burglaries in the summer involved entry through an unsecured door or window
• Half of all burglaries occur between midnight and 8am
• Around €6.4 million worth of goods and cash was stolen last summer in residential burglaries.
• There was a 32% increase in property being stolen from sheds, domestic garages, driveways and gardens in the summer than the winter.

 Whilst burglary rates have been falling, particularly in winter months, we cannot be complacent.

Sergeant Kavanagh advised home owners to secure their properties during the summer months, where one in four burglars enter the property through an open door or window. Thefts of tools, equipment and bicycles increase by a third during the summer. An unlocked shed or unsecured bike are easy targets for the burglar.

"Remember to make your home look occupied, particularly if you intend to be away for an extended period. Once your home is locked and alarmed, ask a neighbour to regularly check your property, use timer switches or apps to turn on lights, cancel deliveries, tidy the garden and watch what you post on social media. Keep the surprises for your holiday and not when you return.”

Sergeant Kavangh also offered Crime Prevention advice in relation to accommodation fraud:

Accommodation Fraud

Approximately 120 reports of Accommodation Fraud in the first 5 months of 2019 – some related to Irish citizens renting holiday apartments but the vast majority relate to incidents in Ireland

There has been an increase in May 2019, during which almost 40 cases being reported

Accommodation Fraud is where the victim pays money to rent a property that does not exist, or exists but is not up for rent, or the victim makes a hotel or guest house reservation only to find that hotel/guesthouse does not exist or that the no reservation was made. 

Rental Fraud

A property is advertised for rent, and the potential tenant pays a deposit or 1st month’s rent in advance, typically without actually seeing or visiting the property.

Photographs of the property on line are false.

Address of the property is advertised, but it may not exist at all – check the Eircode.

The fraudster is living in the property and shows a number of people the property, gets a deposit from several people and then disappears with the money.

In other cases, the transaction appears normal until the renter finds that the keys do not work and the landlord has disappeared.

Red Flags

Owner of the property is unable to meet with the renter to show the house – often claiming that they had to move abroad at short notice and want to rent their home while they are away.

The owner puts pressure on the renter to pay a deposit in advance, before meeting or viewing the property

The owner asks for a deposit in advance and provides a bank account for a bank located outside Ireland.

How to protect yourself

Do not transfer money online until you are 100% certain that the receiver is genuine

Do not pay a deposit, until you have met the owner and viewed the house

If transferring to a bank account, do an IBAN validation check to see determine the Bank and the branch location.

Make your own enquiries - do not rely on information provided by the owner of the house, their website or other information they supply online – do not rely on referees the owner recommends to you

Be wary of persons seeking money in advance via money transfer services

Use reputable websites and agents