Filenews 22 August 2024
With the risk of robbery incidents being increased during the summer holiday season, the Police lists a series of protection measures that store owners and staff can take when undertaking money transfers to and from their store.
According to the Police:
>> We avoid carrying money at night, since in the dark conditions favour fraudsters and make money carriers an easy target.
>> It is preferable to make more than one transfer, with smaller amounts of money during the day.
>> We avoid using motorcycles and mopeds when transporting money.
>> We use a car, having the doors and windows locked all the way, since there is always the risk, while we are with our car at a stop, for example at a photo-controlled intersection when the red light is on, that any person will open the car door and steal the bag / briefcase where we have the money we are carrying.
>> We seek to be accompanied by another person of our trust when transferring money.
>> We use special briefcases for this purpose and place them in the car, in a place that is not visible.
>> We pay particular attention to our actions during the loading / unloading of money, which if possible can be done in an area covered by closed circuit surveillance and with adequate lighting.
>> Before departing, we make sure that there is no suspicious person or vehicle in the area, which we also do upon arrival at our destination and before disembarking from our car.
>> Before we approach the place where we will transfer the money, we notify a person we trust to wait for us outside the venue.
>> We do not disclose to other persons that we are transferring money, nor the amounts or the place to which we will transfer it.
During the transfer of money, we are alert and observant and inform the Police without delay of the presence of suspicious persons and vehicles, by contacting the Citizen's Line, the telephone number 1460 or the local Police Station.
Finally, always having as a priority our physical integrity, safety and health, we avoid any confrontation with any suspicious person, who may react aggressively against us. The discreet observation of suspicious persons and the immediate notification of the Police is the safest handling of such incidents by citizens.
