Earlier this year research found that 57.60 million people are currently using social media. This number has continued to rise over recent years. While most of the people are using social media for good things, there are some burglars out there that use social media for bad reasons. This is what we look at in this blog post.
By thinking like a burglar when you are on social media you can better protect your home, as well as the home of your friends and family. Below we share some top tips for avoiding a burglar target online.
- Friend Requests
Think about the friend requests you get on social media. Do you know the person that is asking to be your friend? Think about the sort of things you post on social media and ask yourself if you want that person seeing these things. A common tactic of burglars that use social media is to send you a friend request. When you accept this, they can see you and everything you post. This could include when you’re going on holiday and any new expensive items you have purchased. You posts could also show a potential burglar when your house is empty.
- Privacy Settings
Look at the privacy and security settings on your social media profiles. You may choose to set your account to private. This means that only your friends, family and people you approve can see your post. You can adjust your privacy settings to ensure that you have complete control of your social media account and who sees your posts. This will help avoid your account and sensitive information falling into the wrong hands.
- Personal Information
While it is important to never share personal information online, you need to think about the personal information in your photos too. For example, if you have young children and take photos of them in their school uniform, make sure the school logo is blurred. A burglar that uses social media could see what school they go to and therefore know what times you will be doing the school run, and your home is empty.
- Days Out And Holidays
Be careful sharing photos of your holiday or days out, when you are on a day out or on holiday. This will tell a burglar using social media to track you that your home is empty. Try to tag locations in your posts when you get home. This means that you can still share with friends where you have been. The same with your holiday photos. Maybe send them on WhatsApp to friends and family When you get home you can then share the whole album when you get back and can log onto social media safely.
Remember, when using social media, think like a criminal. What would a criminal know about you if they saw your post?
