What is opportunistic burglary?

In short, opportunistic thefet is just that; A family member, carere or any other person with access to the home simply takes cash, jewelry, mobile phones or other valuables without the your consent.

Opportunistic key theft

A variation on that is opportunistic key theft. Working as a locksmith for over 15 years, I have often attended homes and offices where keys have “gone missing”. The majority of the time, customers do misplace their keys and the right thing to do is to change the locks – just in case!

Change your locks if you loose your keys!

More and more customers however are starting to blame letterbox distributors, workmen or just random passers by for stealing their keys.

Last week, I received a concerned call from a customer who wanted advice on her home security. She explained that earlier that day, she had taken the dog for a walk and as the builders where in and out leaving the front door open, she did not take her keys. That was opportunistic burglary right there!

If you suspect that your keys are stolen, speak to a locksmith immediately

When my customer returned home, the builders where working at the back door and her keys had gone from the shelf just inside the door.  My customer didn’t want to pay the slightly higher evening price so I advised her to put the key into the lock and turn it until it was horizontal, so if anyone did try and open the lock from the front, the key would not work.

At 3am that night, her dog started to bark and she did hear someone trying to come in – the opportunistic burglar!

Who stole my keys?

Who, I wonder is roaming the streets during the day in the hope of finding an open door or keys left in the lock by mistake and taking the keys knowing they will come back later to burgle the house?

Is it someone who knows which houses are having building work and know that doors will be open or is it a person who set out on their day with no intention of stealing keys but stumbled across the keys and without a thought, took them?

If your keys do go missing and are in doubt, call Capital Locksmiths on 020 8361 1400 and we can change any type of lock on your front door.