Social Networking And Security Dangers

Social media is a great way to connect and share with friends and loved ones, but sometimes you can share too much. If your page isn't private or you don't really know everyone on your friend list, you can be putting yourself at risk for burglary attempts. An obvious problem is posting too much personal information on social networking sites including phone numbers and addresses. A second, often overlooked problem is sharing photos and statuses regarding vacations and being away from the home. Letting everyone know that your home is empty poses a security risk. Burglars targeting Facebook users in particular is becoming a trend, likely because Facebook users are more prone to posting personal information along with their vacation photos and status updates. A burglar ring in New Hampshire was recently busted after 50 break-ins and over $100,000 dollars of property were stolen based on tips recieved through Facebook that residents were away from home. Another recent incident involved a woman posting information that she was away for a concert; a former 'friend' she was connected to on Facebook took the opportunity to steal $10,000 worth of property from her home. You can easily prevent this though, simply from limiting the type of information you post and uploading vacation photos after you return. If you absolutely can't resist posting your pictures right away, make sure you at the very least have an alarm system installed.