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An FBI Criminal Profiler has revealed the one mistake people make when staying in hotels - and warns it could cost them their lives.
Former FBI agent and criminal profiler Candice DeLong never answers a door blindly, even at a hotel.
Speaking at CrimeCon, the agency veteran and ex-psychiatric nurse said she always make sure she checks who is on the other side even if she's expecting someone.
'If I order room service and there is a knock at the door, I don't open the door thinking it is room service, I ask "who is there",' she said, warning that most crimes are opportunistic and involve criminals checking or testing unlocked doors.
Ms DeLong has spent five decades in the criminal and psych fields and is confident in her ability to keep herself safe.
Former FBI agent and criminal profiler Candice DeLong never just answers a door
She shares her knowledge on profiling and crime to help others on her podcast, Killer Psyche.
'Never open a door unless you know what it is on the other side,' she warned, adding that this is the case when it comes to home safety.
She explained 50 per cent of random people or strangers who come into a home to cause harm do so through an unlocked door or window.
'There are ways to protect yourself, deadbolt locks are the best to have,' she said.
She also told a harrowing story of a young woman who was driven off the road, raped and murdered.
She said that people who drive you off the road want you to get out of the car and suggests 'hitting the car in reverse and getting out of there'.
'You have to train your kids to do the same,' she said.
People who are staying in hotels need to be sure they check who is at the door at all times
Personal safety and learning how to maintain it is her biggest conversation point.
She also said if someone does break into your home and is threatening harm then you start talking immediately.
'You [may be able] talk someone out of rape,' she said.
'Unless they tell you to shut up - then you shut up.'
Call 1800RESPECT to talk to a professional from Australia's domestic, family and sexual violence counselling service. Or contact White Ribbon.
