Arrowtown residents are being warned to keep their doors and windows locked, after reports of a prowler targeting homes in the area.
Detective Lisa Watt, of Queenstown, said a series of suspicious incidents were reported in Arrowtown over last week.
A man opened a sliding door and entered a house on Merioneth St at about 2am on February 14.
The resident of the house, who was sleeping on a couch, woke up and scared the man off.
The man did not get a description of the intruder.
The following night a woman, staying at a holiday home in Bracken St, was awoken by footsteps on the deck about 12.30am.
Residents also needed to be wary of a man posing as a door-to-door sales man or charity collector, who was possibly scoping out houses for burglary.
An Arrowtown woman called police after a man was spotting looking through a window of her Devon St home windows on Friday afternoon.
"One of her children was home and had an odd conversation with the man. He said he was from a charity but he didn't ask for any money," Det Watt said.
Det Watt said police would be making inquiries with the charity he mentioned.
The man was in his early 20s and had a "tidy" appearance.
He had a tattoo on his inner right forearm and spoke with an English accent.
The same man was later seen on the front lawn of a vacant house in Arrowtown.
"Police are urging people in Arrowtown . . . to make sure gates, doors and vehicles are locked and that windows are secured.
"This person is wandering around and seems to be looking for an opportunity of an open door or unoccupied house," she said.
Any suspicious behaviour in Arrowtown should be reported to Det Watt at Queenstown Police Station.
