When it comes to home security, the front door continues to be a leading target for potential break-ins. According to data from the Office for National Statistics, 76% of domestic burglars in England and Wales accessed a property through a door, and in 24% of cases where entry was gained, the door was unlocked!
Opportunistic thieves have been using different tactics to break into homes, including lock snapping and various tools to gain access. And so, having a front door lock that meets specific standards set by professional institutions will help prevent break-ins.
We’re proud to be supporting National Home Security Month this October, helping to raise awareness around the importance of good security amongst homeowners – especially as the nights draw in. For a wealth of resources to help you learn how to secure your home, whether you’re looking for home security hacks, information on the latest security standards, or tips and advice on what products are best to keep you secure, visit www.homesecuritymonth.com/advice
To secure a bike, all you need to find is the frame number or add any marking product and record that number instead. It’s completely free, forever. If your bike goes missing, you can easily log in to immobilise.com 24/7 and change the status to lost or stolen, making it immediately visible to police and traceable back to you. Registration could be the difference between a criminal getting away with it or being charged and your bike being returned.
January is the perfect time of year to kickstart the ‘To-do’ list. Getting your property marked and registered on Immobilise gives you a little extra piece-of-mind in the knowledge that your valuables are identifiable by police and checked by responsible second-hand traders. By protecting your homes and valuables, you are also reducing the appeal to steal and helping combat property crime in our communities.
Remember you can register anything with a unique identifier, whether it’s a new laptop you’ve received for Christmas or your trusty mobile that you haven’t quite got around to registering. Just log the IMEI or serial number in Immobilise. It’s quick and easy to do and FREE!
What if the items you want to register don’t have serial numbers?
Don’t worry if your items don’t have a serial number; you can easily add one! Immobilise offers an extensive range of marking products to suit various household items. Visit shop.immobilise.com and receive 20% off any of our items by entering NEWYEAR21 at checkout. (offer ends 31 Jan 2021)
As Christmas fast approaches, we’d like to share a few crime prevention tips that are known to be effective at this time of year.
Make approaching your home too conspicuous for burglars – Invest in motion sensor lights or even festive lighting.
Be secure, especially with festive lighting – Check for vulnerabilities around the home and garden such as feeding cables through open windows.
Create the illusion of occupancy when you’re away, especially at night. Use inexpensive light timers or a Fake TV to deter would-be thieves.
Create the illusion of occupancy when you’re away, especially at night. Use inexpensive light timers or a Fake TV to deter would-be thieves.
Away over Christmas? Ask a neighbour to park on the driveway, redirect parcels, and be sure to cancel milk or paper deliveries.
Be cyber aware and careful not to advertise your new gifts or trips away on social media!
Don’t hide spare keys and use alarms if you have them.
Protecting your home and family need not be time consuming or expensive; a few simple steps can make all the difference.
Don’t forget to register and protect gifts and valuables on Immobilise – It is completely FREE and helps deter thieves and combat property crime. Visit immobilise.com and click on ‘register’ or if you already have an account, log in using your account details to update your property list.
We are offering 15% OFF all our marking and security products. Visit shop.immobilise.com using coupon code: Christmas15 on checkout. Discount available until Monday 4th January & includes FREE delivery on orders over £30!
Many of us will have done much of our Christmas shopping online this year. For those of you intending to visit the high street, busy shopping areas can be magnets for pick-pockets and other criminals this time of year. It’s important to be as vigilant as ever and whilst out shopping:
Put cash and cards away safely and try not to keep your valuables in one place, especially your phone – should your bag be lost or stolen you can still call for help.
Shield the keypad when typing in your PIN when making payments or withdrawing cash.
Don’t make it easy for thieves by hanging bags on chairs. If you’re having a well-earned break, keep your bag and shopping in your eye-line and away from passing hands.
Avoid overtly wearing expensive jewellery and watches in public places.
Park vigilantly in an open, well-lit area. Visit the website parkmark.co.uk for details of police approved car parks. It sounds simple butIf you must store presents in a vehicle, make sure they are out of view and that the car is securely locked.
If you witness a crime report it to shop staff or police dialling 999. For suspicions and non-emergencies call 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 to provide anonymous information
If you have recently bagged yourself a bargain or two over the Black Friday weekend don’t forget to register them on Immobilise.com and to help you protect your valuables we’re offering 25% OFF our Immobilise marking products including Bike Tags at shop.immobilise.com. Simply use the promo code CyberMonday25 at the checkout. Discount available until 7th December.
What can I register?
You can register anything on immobilise.com if it has a unique identifier such as a serial or IMEI number which you can find on laptops and phones. If your items do not have these then you can record any distinguishable markings or purchase one of our marking products that the police are familiar with, such as ImmobiTag for your bicycle or our new ImmobiDot for smaller items.
Why should I register?
The property register plays an essential part in crime reduction and repatriation. It enables the police to identify owners of lost or stolen property and return it. In the event of theft, you will have a ready-made list of your property with photographs and identifiers for the police as well as a certificate of ownership which may help speed an insurance claim
How do I register?
Visit immobilise.com and click on ‘register’ or if you already have an account, log in using your account details to update your property list.
Sony’s Playstation 5 and Microsoft’s Xbox series X had their big reveals recently selling out immediately. For those who aren’t willing to pay thousands of pounds on eBay in a bidding war, it appears that the next best chance to score a system will be on Black Friday. That’s when a number of big-box retailers will make their latest shipments available.
If you are lucky enough to get one this holiday season and are looking to sell your old gaming system don’t forget to sell with a CheckMEND.com certificate it’s been proven to enhance listings on internet auction and classified sites to get you a much better price. All you need is the serial number to perform a check on CheckMEND to generate a certificate.
If you’re considering buying a second-hand system, on the other hand, you may want to look at a Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS4 Pro, or PS4 Slim, all having plenty of life left, there are bargains to be had. For added peace-of-mind before making a purchase don’t forget to ask the seller or retailer for a copy of a CheckMEND certificate to prove the legitimacy of the system. You may check the certificate’s authenticity free of charge by entering its number at checkmend.com/uk/verify.
Immobilise asked what people would do if they found a mobile phone left on a cinema seat. Here’s what we found.
We’re pleased to see that 76% of our respondents knew that they should hand it into the cinema’s reception. All public venues will have a policy for handling found property, and when the owner misses their phone, they are likely to assume that the cinema has it somewhere safe.
6% said they’d give it to charity, which is admirable but we’d suggest against it. The old sayings “finders keepers” and “possession is nine-tenths of the law” are actually very wide of the mark. You don’t own what you find, and you can’t legitimately gift things you don’t own, no matter how well-intentioned.
4% said they’d leave it where it is. Perhaps the second-best option but you can’t be sure the next finder will be as honest as you!
The rest of our audience said they’d drop it off at a police station. This one definitely has its place but only if you find something out in the street rather than on some known business premises. Check your local force policy; most will accept found reports online now and are unlikely to physically take found property unless it’s likely to have personal data on it, is dangerous, or is of high value.
Police will usually check Recipero’s systems for registered owners so just in case you become a victim of a loss, make sure to register your property at immobilise.com as soon as possible!
