Social Media Warning – Posting Vacation News Can Trigger Burglary(from Green Mt. Access)

A couple of months ago before my husband and I left for Scotland he suggested I not post anything specific about our trip on Facebook. His fear was that someone would see the posting and realize our house was vacant and ripe for burglary. I thought he was being paranoid since I like to assume only my friends see my postings. However I did what he suggested and did not post anything about when we were leaving or how long we would be gone. Today I got a newsletter from Green Mt. Access, my internet provider. There I found a tutorial and warning about vacation news. I am including the whole piece in this blog and hope all my clients and social media friends take heed. Here it is…….

Social Media Warning – Posting Vacation News Can Trigger Burglary

Cybercriminals are increasingly using social media to search out burglary opportunities. These thieves watch for information about upcoming or current vacations and time their crimes for when homes will be empty. When users of Facebook, Twitter, foursquare, and other social media sites post when they will be (or are) out of town, they run the risk of unknowingly making their homes prime targets for burglary.

Thieves get this information in several ways:

• Facebook: Say your status reads, “Can’t wait for Monday, starting week-long trip to the Caribbean.” If you haven’t adjusted your privacy settings, this information can be seen by all of your Facebook friends. Even if your privacy settings are secure, people who can see it may decide to “share” or pass on the information to others who might be disreputable.

• Twitter: On Twitter, anyone can “follow” you without your permission so you have no control over “who sees what” as you do on Facebook. A tweet like, “Stopping in Omaha on our long drive to Denver” lets everyone know you are not at home.

• foursquare: This application is meant to let people know where you are. If you live in Boise and you have checked in at a restaurant in San Francisco, that’s a huge tip-off to anyone who wants to get into your home without you there. And foursquare is doubly dangerous because you have the option of sharing your activity on Facebook or Twitter.

To protect yourself, post as little as possible about your vacation plans, and ask others not to talk about trips before they happen or while in progress. Remember, you can tell everyone about your vacation when you return. If you’re simply too excited to not post your plans on Facebook, be sure your privacy settings are secure. To do this, in the upper right-hand corner of your Facebook home page, click Account and select Privacy Settings. Then click the Customize Settings link, which will take you to a page where you can specify what others see.

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