Featured Image Credit: Facebook/Ryan TricksTV
Topics: Crime, Travel, Facebook, Social Media
Ella Scott
Topics: Crime, Travel, Facebook, Social Media
A ‘genius’ video showing how potential criminals can access your hotel room from the outside has people claiming thieves are getting more ‘creative’.
Experts advise that when you check into a hotel room for the first time, you should immediately examine the soft furnishings for bedbugs and flush the toilet before you use it.
After making sure your door locks properly and familiarising yourself with an escape route in case of fire, you can finally begin to unpack and enjoy your evening away from home.
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However, you need to remain vigilant for the duration of your stay and definitely keep an eye on belongings that aren’t put in a safe.
Unfortunately, it appears that personal items you choose not to put behind a padlock could be at risk, as a social media user has shown just how easy it is for opportunists and robbers to gain access to your hotel room.
Last year, a Facebook user - who goes by the moniker ‘Ryan TricksTV’ - uploaded a three-minute clip to the platform showing how thieves need only utilise a set of magnets, a piece of string and a cable tie to enter your digs.
At the beginning of the clip, Ryan showed how a string with a cable tie on the end of it had been shoved under his hotel door and was being manoeuvred to the door handle.
Eventually, after some attempts, the perpetrator outside the door managed to get the looped cable tie around the handle and was ready to pull the door open before Ryan scared them away.
After opening the door, a person could be seen streaking away down the corridor and the content creator held up the magnet for the camera.
He then demonstrated how the villainous ‘hack’ had taken place, with the magnet moving the cable tie, which had another hidden magnet attached to it.
“That’s what they were doing,” he exclaimed after seeing the secret second magnet. “Oh my god!”
After watching the viral video - which has racked up 50 million views on the creator’s Facebook page - users have come out in their droves to debate the hotel room crime hack.
One user of X, formerly known as Twitter, typed: “Shoulda kept quiet and opened the door for him.”
Another said: “The thieves are creative.”
Elsewhere, a Facebook user wrote: “When others think it's real but me sitting here questioning how the hell did a string climb up a door. Not possible.”
“So all this video was was a way to show someone how to get into a hotel room using magnets,” wrote someone else. “Genius btw.”
A fifth commented: “That’s why you locked your door and put the chain on.”
Travelers are therefore advised to keep their valuables and important documents locked away in their room and to always use door deadbolts and chain locks.
Moreover, if you notice any suspicious activity or strange individuals lurking around the hotel, be sure to report it immediately to staff.