72% of all internet users are on social media (according to Bullas), and though this provides a number of positives, research suggests that four out of five burglars now track your social profiles to assist their crimes. While this may seem daunting to many, by looking at how they use it to their advantage we can stop them having any success.
1. Location Sharing
Over half of young people (56%) post their location or movements on social media at least once a week according to an ADT study, and if you’re one of them you could be an easy target for a social savvy burglar. In fact you could also be doing it unintentionally, as your GPS can automatically sync up to your social media. Without you even knowing you could be broadcasting your whereabouts to everyone who wants to know.
A common illusion with burglary is that it is opportunistic, in the sense that they would try their luck once and move on to another property. However a recent study by Friedland revealed that 80% of criminals return to a property a number of times before breaking in.
Therefore if you’ve been selected by a burglar they could be waiting for the right time to pounce, and that could be when your status reveals that you’ve gone back to your hometown, round to your friend’s house or even out for the night. The easiest way to get caught out, however, is checking into the airport, as it’s an obvious indicator that they have a large window of opportunity.
2. Hidden Picture Data
Without even realizing it, you could be sharing much more than your fun memories online, as every picture you take from a modern smartphone is digitally tagged with EXIF data which includes the following information:
- Where it was taken
- When the photo was taken
- The model of camera or smartphone used to take it
Any burglar that knows how to find this information can quite easily grab your home address, marking you as a victim. Though some websites such as Facebook and Twitter do strip the data, many don’t, so it’s important to be careful of what you upload.
3. Revealing Posts
One of the positives of social media is being able to share life events with loved ones, but with nine out of ten young adults aged 16 to 21 years-old sharing information which could put their home at risk (ADT), we could be revealing more than we should.
Seemingly innocent posts can be all the modern burglar needs. For example a Facebook post about arriving on a wonderful hot beach can be enough to pique the interest of a criminal. Once they have your home address and do some research on Google Maps Street View, they could be considering a trip to your house if it looks feasible. In fact, the Friedland study revealing that 74% of burglars stated that Google Street View was playing a role in today’s home thefts.
4. Reverse Image Searches
Sometimes the wrong people are looking at your photos, and if you post them in more than one place then you’re vulnerable to a reverse image search that could give burglars all the information that they need. That’s because Google now offers a service which allows you to upload an image and see where else it might have been posted.
This means that once a burglar has one of your pictures, they can run the search and find all other profiles on which you may have shared the image. If they manage find your various accounts and figure out your real name, they’re only a simple background check away from finding your home address.
For tips on how to avoid becoming another statistic check out this post on how to keep yourself safe on social media. Most importantly, make sure you alter your social media privacy settings to decide what people outside your friendship circles can see.
from Darlene Milligan http://ift.tt/1LpPbjZ via local SEO company
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