Posing as customers is an old trick but criminals are always increasing their efforts to gain from every opportunity they can find.
Small businesses are especially vulnerable because even if they do have a security door and buzzer, they have to open them when a ‘customer’ arrives.
Charnel Hattingh, Group Head of Marketing and Communications at Fidelity ADT, adds residents in the suburbs are also contending with imposters.
“This is also not a new trend. Criminals just find more innovative guises to successfully gain access to a property,” she says. “They often pose as council workers coming to check a meter box or with a form to sign for whatever reason.”
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She warns that criminals watch homes to study routines. They know when domestic staff are alone on the property. This is an opportunity to pose as delivery service or maintenance workers to con the domestic worker to open the gate.
“We have often reiterated the danger of opening the gate to strangers. Your perimeter protection is your first line of defence and someone opening the gate breaches this. Things can go wrong very quickly,” Hattingh says.
“Along with other important security issues, employers must fully enforce a rule with anyone at home not to open the gate to strangers – no matter who they say they are.
“Ideally, homes should have an intercom system from which you can see who is at the gate and clearly communicate with them about what they want, without having to go outside.”
Hattingh says the five golden rules when a stranger is at the gate are:
1. Ask who they are and what they want.
2. If you were not expecting them, don’t let them in – no matter what they tell you.
3. If they say the employer ordered them to fix something, the domestic worker needs to phone their employer immediately. It is not likely that the employer left home without mentioning a service provider coming and for what reason. If they didn’t tell you, treat this person at the gate as highly suspicious.
4. If you don’t have an intercom system, talk to them through a window from the safety of a locked-up house.
5. Keep a remote panic button with you and do not hesitate to press it to alert your security service provider if you see anything or anyone suspicious. This is especially important for domestic staff.
“In some areas, the council is busy switching homes to pre-paid electricity meters. It is usually well-publicised that people should look out for these contractors in their neighbourhood,” she says.
“Check the identification these workers will carry and you are fully within your rights to ask for this. Be aware that any work the council is busy with in your suburb opens the door for impersonators.”
Hattingh concludes that all strangers at your gate need to be treated as suspicious persons. This includes people begging for food – even those with babies in prams.
“It is a sad reality that joblessness has forced many people into begging and into lying about who they are so that they can get onto properties and rob people, perhaps even harm them.
“Protect your loved ones and your possessions by sticking to strict security rules at home, ensuring you have the right security systems in place and that they are working as they should,” Hattingh says.
