Don't be the victim of crime this Xmas

Tens of thousands of people across the UK will be robbed of their Christmas gifts as burglars prepare to pounce this season, warns Swift-Find.com, the global online valuable property registry.

Richard Ellis, Director Swift-Find and a former member of the International and Organised Crime Branch at Scotland Yard, says this year's most wanted presents include I-Pods, mobile phones, portable computers, consoles and games, designer watches and jewellery. These are all easy to steal and easy to sell on, so people should take as many preventative steps as possible to make sure that their presents arent stolen from under their tree.

" We are urging the British public to be on guard and to take sensible precautionary steps whilst out shopping and once the presents are bought," says Ellis.

These tips include:

Keep a record of all valuable gifts you buy including receipts and even a picture.

Property-mark all gifts with either your postcode or that of the recipients before passing them on. This is particularly important for electrical goods. Property marking packs can be obtained from the police.

Pay with a credit card, not banker's drafts or Switch (you have more legal protection with a credit card than a debit card).

Make sure you register valuables on-line with Swift-Find.com. That way, if your valuables are stolen, you can flag them as such on the global system in seconds. Should someone try to sell your stolen property to a participating pawnbroker, dealer, auction house, etc, the prospective buyer and the authorities are alerted.

Keep valuable presents from being visible from the outside, for example under a tree next to French doors.

Don't put presents under the tree too early, especially if the house will be empty quite often.

Be especially wary of bogus callers around Christmas time - including opportunist thieves posing as officials or representatives of charities. Always check their identification cards.

Ask a friend or neighbour to keep an eye on the house while you are away or out of the house for long periods.

Finally, break up the gifts boxes and packaging so they fit out of sight in a normal bin bag. Some burglars will even follow bin men around at Christmas, just to spy on empty packaging to know which house has a new computer or games console.

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