Former burglars have revealed the cunning ways criminals gain access to homes - sometimes by using Brits' own pets and alarms against them.
From stealing police uniforms to using ladders placed outside houses, burglars have come up with dozens of crafty ways to break into houses and steal.
Gang enforcer turned security expert Lennox Rodgers said criminals would steal the uniforms by luring unassuming police officers away from cars and breaking into their vehicles.
He described how they would alert police to a phoney domestic incident in which the husband had a knife, then use the opportunity to raid police vehicles.
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"That way when we broke into a bank or elsewhere the staff would see our uniform and wouldn't pay as much attention because they thought we had a right to be there," he told The Sun.
Lennox also said burglars would trick homeowners into believing their house alarms were faulty by deliberately setting them off.
"Shortly after we would return and steal whatever we wanted," he said. "If the alarm went off again most people would just assume their alarm was faulty."
Pets are also a potential liability, according to former burglar turned security expert Michael Fraser.
He told The Sun pet owners usually leave the key either in or near to the backdoor, which weakens home security, adding that cat flaps are also often used to steal keys.
Lennox warned Brits against posting about upcoming holidays online, as Facebook posts are like "advertising your own property to burglars".
Instead, he recommended uploading holiday photos after they get home.
Even homeowners' wheelie bins and plant pots are safe from savvy burglars, security expert Robin Knox told The Sun.
Carrying tools to break into a house is an offence, so burglars will instead use tools lying outside the property - such as ladders - to gain entry.
"If you have a pile of bricks it’s worth clearing them up as you’re essentially providing someone with the key to your house," he said.
Other advice given by the experts included not giving virtual house tours when selling up, keeping hedges low so potential burglars can be seen approaching, and maintaining good relationships with neighbours.
Lennox said burglars are most active on rainy days, as "people are less vigilant".
"When they hear a sound they may think it’s a wheelie bin falling over so don’t call the police," he said.
Michael, who starred on BBC's Beat The Burglar, broke into two houses as a teenager and barely avoided a prison sentence before going straight.
Now aged 60, he advised homeowners to install two locks on their front doors, adding that burglars can tell whether a door is double-locked simply by leaning on it and seeing if it budges two millimetres.
He explained single-lock doors were a "guaranteed entrance point" for burglars as the cylinder only exists to hold the door in place.
