Are you sending out Burglary Invitations through Social Media?

‘Me, my family are off to holidays in Sunny Spain…’, ‘I am out with my mates for a night out’, ‘we are hanging out at….’ …very common status updates on Facebook, Twitter and the check-ins in Foursquare. Have you ever considered who is viewing this updates? Are you sending invitations to burglars?

A recent study by Friedland estimate about 78% of the burglars use Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare to target potential empty properties. We all remember the recent riots in summer 2012 that was organised using social media and we do know now, this information can be handy for people who are after this information. Next time you are about to update a status about your holiday plans or whereabouts, think about who may be watching and following your updates.

Google Earth, Maps (in satellite mode) and Street View helps burglars to sit at their home and watch your property, understand if you have any fencing in your property, tall hedges, flat roof area for easy access to first floor of the property, and if there are any neighbours living nearby. They can use Google Maps to give them an overview of your property and helps in planning an entry and exit points.

So burglars are going high-tech too. They no longer have to wander around looking for opportunities. They can sit at home; check your social media status to plan if you are away, look at Google maps and Street View to plan burglary, even before they leave their home. We had a look on street view, you can easily identify your house number, what kind of windows and doors you have, and how far away is your neighbour’s house. A professional burglar may even figure out what kind of lock does your front door has. However they can also see if you have an alarm in your home, potentially putting burglars off. So consider getting an alarm fitted.

Here are some very simple steps you can take to protect your home

• Try not to let the whole world know you are away from your home or working late or out for a night out. It may not be bad idea to wait till you get home before posting photos of your night outs, tagging friends, pointing out your ‘current’ location etc.
• Avoid adding random people to your friend list, only add real friends. Facebook acknowledged in 2012 that about 8.7%, 83 million profiles on Facebook are fake! You should consider creating a close group where only your close friends get updates of your whereabouts.
• Set privacy settings correctly, so only your friends can see your status updates.
• Avoid public status updates that show your home address or as a location in map.
• Avoid posting photos that reveal the whereabouts of your home, or landmarks near home.
• Avoid posting photos of expensive items at your home.
• Don’t make it easy for burglars to identify your home as an easy target, because of that tweet or Facebook status update. Lock up the place when you are away, leave some lights on, and get an alarm fitted by Fitted Home Alarms. With more and more people using social media, the chances of burglars using these mediums are also on the increase. Protect your home by using social media sensibly.

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