Although not a common occurrence, a number of recent incidents of burglary have led to a few face to face confrontations between the home owner and the culprit. The Bermuda Police Service advises members of the public who may find themselves in this situation to try and follow these simple guidelines for the safety of you and your family.

• Never engage in a physical confrontation with an intruder – keep a safe distance.
• If a physical confrontation is inevitable, remember the rule of law and use reasonable force to defend yourself or your property.
• Observe physical details of the intruder (height, build, colour, clothing, marks or tattoos, speech) and note such in writing at the safest time possible after the confrontation.
• Identify a room that has a locking device on the inside of the door (i.e.: bathroom or bedroom) that can be secured, where you can go to call for Police assistance or a family member (either using a cell phone, mobile house phone or traditional house phone).
• If you have a security system ‘panic’ alarm ensure that it is working. (A simple device to have in your home is an air-horn similar to that used by boat owners; such devices are available at various hardware stores).
• If a confrontation occurs outside your property, take note of the sound of any vehicle(s) that the intruder(s) may leave the scene on or in, or the direction they travel away from your property. This can assist the Police in searching the area when they arrive at your location.

This type of incident is a rare occurrence, but utilizing simple crime prevention methods within your home can secure your safety and that of your property.

The Bermuda Police Service Fraud Unit is aware of a credit card scam which appears to be targeting Bermuda residents. The scam works as follows: a caller claims they are from the security/fraud department of one of the major credit card companies and asks if you have purchased a specific product recently for several hundred dollars.

When you indicate that you haven’t, the caller goes on to say that the amount of the purchased product will be credited to your account and that an investigation will be launched into the incident. The caller then asks you to verify that you are in possession of your credit card by reading off three numbers on the back of the card.

These numbers are the security code for your credit card, and if given to the caller will enable them to use your credit card to make unauthorized purchases. The caller doesn’t ask you for your credit card number in this particular scam, because in all likelihood they already have it.

Once again, the Fraud Unit would like to remind the public that they should not give out personal information, banking details (including credit card information) or any other sensitive information to individuals requesting it; the banking institutions/credit card companies will not ask for this information, because they already have it.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Fraud Unit on 299-8023.