Thousands stolen after elderly woman tied up and robbed. Tala

[memory man]

https://cyprus-mail.com/2021/08/07/thou ... nd-robbed/

[LouiseCastricum]

What a terrible and sad experience. Poor lady.

[Uncle D]

it is terrible what has happened to her, but why keep so much cash and jewelry in the house there are banks for that kind of thing

[Chaddy]

UncleD, i must agree with you , it is not uncommon to read someone was burgled and they lost large amounts of jewellery and cash, perhaps a house safe would be worth while ?

Friends of ours had a very robust safe.However the bad guys got it out.It was their insurance company who insisted on a safe.

[Kili01]

These burglars must be professionals these days, a few years ago they seemed more like amateurs.. and these gangs tend to target an area, where they can pick their wealthy victims.
A chilling thought.

Dee

[Uncle D]

I agree, they dont go to 1 bedroom flats they go for large houses in affluent areas with flash cars.
What I cant understand is how the hell did she accumulate 25,000 sterling in cash.

[WHL]

I agree, they dont go to 1 bedroom flats they go for large houses in affluent areas with flash cars.
What I cant understand is how the hell did she accumulate 25,000 sterling in cash.

Could be she sold, property/land/cars/jewellery won it at bingo etc, what does it matter how she acumulate her cash, in todays world 25 grand buys you a nice car its not mega money.

[Uncle D]

Yea and if it was 25;000 euros I would agree with that, you can only legally bring 10,000 euros or equivalent into or out of the uk at a time,. If caught customs would want to know where the cash has come from, it's also illegal to sell anything for more than 10k cash, and what branch would they allow that amount of sterling to be withdrawn, it sounds dodgy to me.
Anyway she's lost it now

[WHL]

Yea and if it was 25;000 euros I would agree with that, you can only legally bring 10,000 euros or equivalent into or out of the uk at a time,. If caught customs would want to know where the cash has come from, it's also illegal to sell anything for more than 10k cash, and what branch would they allow that amount of sterling to be withdrawn, it sounds dodgy to me.
Anyway she's lost it now

Not Correct, you can bring any amount in , anything over ten grand then you have to declare it. You can make arrangements with your Bank, to withdraw over ten grand in sterling,, so also not correct,

[galexinda]

On the odd occasion I transfer funds from the UK there is a section to be completed regarding the intended use of funds and I tick the nearest relevant box.

However, as WHL comments above, nothing to stop anyone making a few €9,999.00 transactions in a short period of time, especially if intending to purchase a new vehicle, furnish a property or for any reason at all. Even some funerals cost upwards of €5,000.00 if cremation overseas is part of the deal.

[galexinda]

When I used to attend the various coffee mornings in Paphos, some of the jewellery that was being worn by even just the one person was easily worth €10,000.00 or more. Most people enjoy being able to wear a choice of jewellery, some of which has been handed down from generation to generation, and so can understand why they keep it in their home. With regards to a safe, friends in Mandria returned from a quiz night to find the safe had gone!

When we lived on our yacht we 'dressed down' because we knew that it was tempting fate to wear nice jewellery, be seen using a decent mobile phone etc.(the old Nokia still has its uses) especially when we were at anchor, as most of the time the yacht was within easy swimming distance of the shore and easy prey in the darkness of the early morning hours. Hence many friends used to have a small dog on board.

So, I believe it is often just down to observing potential victims and waiting for an opportunity.

[Kili01]

Yes, I agree with your last statement. In high rent areas we were warned to look out for unidentified persons and for strange cars, sometimes just parked up along a residential street of nice villas.. maybe with several people in the car or wandering around looking at houses. If we saw anything suspicious to report it.

Sad but true.
Dee

[galexinda]

Just think of it as a caravan that floats!
Unfortunately we were never in a position to own a property and a yacht simultaneously and were quick to take up offers by marinas under construction for very reduced berthing fees even if it meant travelling great distances!

[josef k]

Something to think about.

Have you got a safe?
Is it in the wardrobe?
Is it held "secure" by a couple of wood screws that are screwed into chipboard?

How many of you answered yes to all three questions? If you did, you haven't got a safe. You have a portable box that can be taken away with your valuables in it.

[Kili01]

How true.
But I would be interested to know how one can anchor a safe securely enough to deter a determined burglar with his tool bag. Without creating a bank vault in an average small house or apartment which could be very unsightly and with limited space available. Any ideas on how to do this, please send me a p.m.
Thanks
Dee

[71 Trans Am]

Most safe's these days are Fire Proof and Water Proof and secured in a concrete floor

[Lincoln]

Commonly sold safes are anything but. In almost every burglary report I read in Cyprus the thieves took the safe along with everything else.

The kind of safe you would buy from somewhere like (for example) Super Home Centre is not a safe.

When installing a safe advice needs to be taken from a security expert and you will almost certainly need to spend hundreds, if not thousands, on a proper safe.

You're almost certainly better hiding vauables in an obscure part of your home and garden. But a not a fridge/freezer as that's a well-known hidey-hole.

You do come out with so much sarcastic and ill-advised comments. There are excellent safes to be bought at Super Home. And a good handy man could easily install them with proper Lug Bolts into any floor/wall.

[WHL]

Commonly sold safes are anything but. In almost every burglary report I read in Cyprus the thieves took the safe along with everything else.

The kind of safe you would buy from somewhere like (for example) Super Home Centre is not a safe.

When installing a safe advice needs to be taken from a security expert and you will almost certainly need to spend hundreds, if not thousands, on a proper safe.

You're almost certainly better hiding vauables in an obscure part of your home and garden. But a not a fridge/freezer as that's a well-known hidey-hole.

You do come out with so much sarcastic and ill-advised comments. There are excellent safes to be bought at Super Home. And a good handy man could easily install them with proper Lug Bolts into any floor/wall.

Sorry but HIC is correct, the safes sold at most DIY stores are not fit for purpose, the actual key asembly is the same as what you get on your letter box's that you fix on the outside wall, we had one of these safes, which I secured to a brick wall with wall bolts, one day the batteries run out and the code keys wouldn't work, never mind I will use the key to open it, problem couldn't remember where we left the key, so I go and find a large safety pin, insert pin wiggle it about for a bit, and hey presto the door opens, well Im no safe breaker and if I could open it with a bog standard safty pin, what does that say about the lock, just to say these was the most expensive wall safe sold at a major DIY store in Cyprus.

I went to my local metal worker who has made me gates for the house etc, together we designed a box which he made for me, it is about 50 x 50x 30, weighs a ton, and we dug the floor under a cupboard, filled the surround with rebar and concrete, if anyone manages to get that out they are welcome to it.

[Lincoln]

The CHUBB safe that I purchased from a DIY store was the best. Fitted correctly and would be EXTREMELY difficult to be removed. However, we all know that a determined and well-prepared burglar would be able to remove most safes or break into them.

[jeba]

Even the best safe won't help you if the burglars foce you at knifepoint to open it. Best not to have valuables at home. Not even hidden somewhere because you might forget where you hid it. Happened to me when I sold my house in Germany and gave away stuff, forgetting that I had gold coins hidden inside (thankfully people returned most of them).