It is never ok when someone or a gang takes over your home. They might use your home for crime, or as somewhere to live.
It can start with someone being friendly and nice to you, then they might do things like:
- spend a lot of time at your home, using your things and eating your food
- refuse to leave
- bring people you don’t know to your home
- use your home to store drugs, things they have stolen or weapons
- bring people to have sex for money
- take over your home and live there or move other people in
- start to take your money and personal things
- stop you going out or having visitors
- threaten to hurt you
- lock you in a room so you can’t see what they are doing
- force you to leave your home
For more information about cuckooing please read this leaflet or watch this film.