High-Value Homes:
The Hidden Risks of
Open-Source Intelligence

High-value properties, particularly in well-known high-income areas have become a target to organised crime gangs and since December 2025, these burglaries have become rife across The South. Burglaries are often carried out in less than 12 minutes, well before a police response can act.

But how are so many of these burglaries executed so quickly?

Blackstone Consultancy have been engaged to advise solutions for improved technical, physical and procedural security measures around a number of these properties and reiterate that security essentially starts beyond the property’s perimeter.

What information is available about the property and the person living in it that might aid an intruder?

In recent news, an Albanian gang was caught by police and now faces prosecution for a slew of million-pound residential robberies which they executed with the help of floor plans, photographs and other information garnered from Rightmove. This merely skims the surface of the ocean of online information that intruders and other criminals have access to and will use to their advantage.

Social media has made it easier than ever to find out personal information like who lives where, their habits and their routines.

• Estate agent Instagrams boasting sales and tagging new owners hands out a high-value address.
• Facebook posts showing you’re on holiday tells intruders your house is empty.
• Public Strava profiles with your exercise routes regularly shows how long you’ll be out on a given day and at what times.

These are not opportunist thieves; they professional burglars who use intel – and what intelligence can be more accurate than that coming directly from the source?

Individually, these seemingly harmless bits of information may not completely compromise you, together they paint a colourful picture of a property and resident’s lifestyle.

• Privacy agreements with estate agents that prevent them from posting personal information about new owners or tenants.
• Submitting requests to sites such as Google Earth or Maps to have your property redacted from their satellite and street view search options.
• Privatising social media accounts, only posting holiday locations after the fact where reasonable, and removing locations from posts linked to your property.

Ultimately, deterring criminal activity is what will allow clients to rest assured that their property is safe. A strong security posture – well engineered, unobtrusive physical security and effectively managed technical measures – will make intruders think twice at attempting to break into your home.

Please speak to your broker if you would like to find out more about arranging a property security review, or an introduction to Blackstone Consultancy.