Motorhome owners in North Wales urged to be vigilant after reports of cold callers asking to buy vehicles

Motorhome owners in North Wales are being urged to be vigilant after reports of cold callers turning up at people’s doors asking to buy their vehicles.

North Wales Police said there have been lots of social media posts recently about similar incidents across the region.

Officers are now asking people to be on their guard and consider the following tips to keep their motorhomes secure:

• Park your motorhome nose facing the house, or a wall, with the wheels turned. This will make it much more difficult to tow away.
• Have plenty of light and CCTV covering the vehicle.
• Keep your motorhome keys in a safe and secure place. If you have keyless entry, make sure they’re kept as far away as possible from your motorhome and store them in a key-shielding pouch so the signal can’t be copied.
• Put a barrier in the way for example choose a high-quality, sturdy post.
• Use an approved steering wheel lock as they’re very visible, quick to fit, and they’re proving to be effective against deterring thieves, as they take extra time and effort to remove.
• Fit a Sold Secure wheel clamp to prevent your wheels from turning. A Clutch Claw locks the clutch and brake pedals together and there are also gear stick locks. Or consider a pedal box which is Police approved.
• OBD stands for On Board Diagnostic. This is the computer in your motorhome which measures all sorts of things like emissions, mileage, speed, faults etc. but worryingly it’s being used by thieves to override vehicle security so they can steal it without needing the key. Fit an OBD port lock which covers the OBD port or an OBD blocker prevents unauthorised use of the OBD port.
• Consider extra immobilisation security.
• Fit an approved tracker. This may not prevent your vehicle from being stolen but it will significantly help in recovering the vehicle.