As Greeks Pull Money From Banks, Burglars Move In

Police see spike in home robberies
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted May 24, 2012 3:55 PM CDT
As Greeks Pull Money From Banks, Burglars Move In
A woman with an umbrella walks past a man using an ATM of the National Bank of Greece in Athens.   (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

See those stories about panicked residents of Greece pulling their money out of banks? Yeah, criminals did, too, and now police are warning people about a wave of break-ins and home invasions, reports Reuters. In fact, police broke up two crime networks from the former Soviet republic of Georgia suspected in 300 Greek burglaries in recent months.

Others are sure to take their place: Greeks have withdrawn about $90 billion dollars from banks in the last two years, much of it in cash. And much of it, presumably, is getting stuffed under mattresses. "We urge people to trust the banking system, leave their money there, or at least in a safe place, not hide it at home, where they must anyway take the basic security measures," said a police spokesman. "Some people don't even lock their doors and windows." (More Greece stories.)

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