Empty homes in August are giving organized burglary groups an opportunity to strike after first determining which residents are away on vacation. Exclusive footage obtained by MEGA shows burglars operating in Koropi and Nafplio, while in one case, a homeowner came face to face with the intruders.
Empty cities. Closed homes. An ideal setting for burglary gangs. In Koropi, security cameras captured their movements step by step.
In footage obtained exclusively by MEGA, three people are seen approaching their target undisturbed. They break down the door, already knowing the owners are away on vacation. They enter the home, steal jewelry and disappear.
“They broke into my home,” a burglary victim in Koropi said.
“Were you away these days?”
“Yes, I’m already on vacation.”
“Did they take anything from the house?”
“Jewelry.”
The burglars carefully plan their moves. Before striking, they “scan” the neighborhood. New footage from Nafplio, in the northeastern Peloponnese, reveals their method. A man gets out of a car and repeatedly rings a doorbell, apparently trying to determine whether anyone is home.
“They passed by the house two or three times,” the homeowner said. “They ring doorbells around midday. That’s why they deliberately go at noon, so they can come back and strike later at night.”
In the Athens neighborhood of Zografou, other methods have also been observed in recent weeks as burglars try to determine whether apartment residents are away. In one apartment building where residents were burglarized, a notice posted at the entrance warns about the incident.
Once burglars identify a target, they can act with little regard for alarms or the possibility of encountering residents.
“We went to see what had happened, and I found them inside the house,” one burglary victim said. “They didn’t care that the alarm was going off. They broke down my door and walked in at 8 p.m., in the summer, while people were passing by outside.”
A locksmith explained that some doors can be relatively easy to breach.
“It’s a lightweight construction. There are many ways to open it; you don’t need heavy equipment,” he said. “Thin metal, a low-security lock. They get inside.”
In Thessaloniki, 310 burglaries were recorded at homes and businesses over two months, June and July.
“There are more risks during the summer, so we take whatever precautions we can,” one Thessaloniki resident said.
Authorities are urging residents to remain particularly vigilant. People are advised to secure doors and windows properly and avoid leaving clues that reveal they are away, either on social media or around the entrance to their homes.
