In the day and age we live in today social media is all around us. Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Instagram, or Google+, everyone is on at least one of them. With so many ways to connect with your friends and family, social media can have a lot of positive effects. Here’s a question: Have you ever sat down and thought whether you’re social media activity could endanger your home’s security? Well, the answer might be “yes” according to recent research. A group of burglars revealed using social media updates to decide when to burglarize a home. You might want to remember this the next time you think about Tweeting your vacation plans, or location, because someone’s waiting for that next “Tweet.”
I can guarantee if you were to log into your Facebook, someone is posting pictures from their vacation, or updating their status with some sort of vacation plans. In most cases you will find “friends” updating their status to “going to be in the RMV all day” or something similar along those lines. We’re all guilty of it. I mean, if I was on the top of the Eiffel Tower, I’d want to post all of my Instragram pictures and tell everyone about it,. However, if a burglar was to see this, he would know I was out of the country and that my home is vacant. This is a perfect opportunity for a burglar, and due to this knowledge, more and more burglars are becoming hip to this practice.
Here’s 5 Social Media Tips You Can Take to Improve Your Home Security:
- Steer clear of posting photos of expensive items in your home.
- Posting photos that reveal your address or any landmarks around your home is never a good idea.
- Avoid announcing your vacation plans or that you will be out of town for a long period of time.
- Set your Facebook privacy settings to allow only your friends to see your updates.
- With all the types of predators out there, it’s wise to only add actual friends into your network. You can always create a group of “personal friends” and contain any updates you think might be risky to just real friends.
The Free Jaw Dropping Tool Burglars Love to Use
Burglars have a couple of methods when it comes to scoping out a home. The traditional burglar will go to your neighborhood and physically case out your home. When a burglar cases out a home, he is checking to see if there is any windows that are concealed by shrubbery or trees, privacy fencing, etc. Basically the burglar will look for the basic layout of the home as well as the quickest escape route possible. Seems like a lot of work right? Now, what if I told you that there is something out there that helps a burglar with all this without him/her having to step out their front door?
Well buckle up, there was this little tool created back in 2007 which you may know as Google Street View. Burglars can essentially use Google Street View to scope out potential targets before breaking in. If I was a burglar I would prefer to target homes using this tool rather than walking around in random neighborhoods with the risk of being caught. Google will even give you the fastest escape route possible too if you want to take it that far, which I don’t doubt a burglar would. If you think about it, Google has done most of the hard work for the burglars.
Whether you like it or not, social media is here to stay. Now just because there are home security threats associated with the use of social media, it doesn’t mean it will guarantee a burglary, but it does increase the chances. Burglars are opportunistic criminals and when they see you post something like “taking the family on a 2 week getaway to Disney World” they now know your home is empty and the items in it are up for grabs. If you choose to share your vacation plans, post something like “taking the family on a 2 week getaway to Disney World, but leaving the burglar alarm behind!” This will avoid any burglar from choosing your home as their next target.
This guest post was written by Kevin Raposo, a blogger for SimpliSafe. Kevin covers issues related to home security, crime, safety, and consumer issues. Kevin is a dedicated writer and musician, spreading the word through music and blogging. SimpliSafe is a leader in the wireless home security field.
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Hi Kevin,
These are some really cool tips. I never announce my vacation plan publicly instead slip out without telling anyone except my closest friends . I do not write about it on facebook too. I make sure that I do not approve friend requests without checking the profile.
All your tips are worth following because social media can sometime cause a lot of troubles like you have mentioned
Ashvini recently posted…How much fuel do you have?
Hi Ashvini,
Thanks for the comment! The only time I will announce any plans, I always end in something like “Ill be gone for the day, but my burglar alarm won’t.”
However there is one plus side to using social media. Law enforcement have recently been reaching out to the public via Facebook or Twitter in help with cases that have resulted to arrests.