Social media is part of everyday life for almost anyone worldwide. It not only allows you to connect with people but also share your life events and memories with your social circles.
As a part of human nature, people live in social groups and prosper on social interaction. In the age of social media, people connect with each other and share information through social media.
People share their personal information online, whether it be check-ins on Facebook or posting a brand new car on Instagram.
Professional burglars are also advanced that they are using social media as a potential tool to find their targets. With the help of social media, burglars can track people online.
Most of the people post anything and everything online without thinking about its consequences. But, this information could benefit the burglars who find their potential targets on such platforms.,
There are users who keep their profile public with information of their location or contact details accessible to all. It is easy for a burglar to monitor such details of these people from their profiles which are apparently public.
Some of the common types of posts that the burglars’ look for include weekend outings posts or check-ins, lunch or dinner date posts, picnic videos or pictures, new home or car posts, long vacations stories etc.
According to various statistics, some of the most common posts by the people include vacation, purchase of new cars or homes.
It is always advisable to not post important information online that could make you or your home vulnerable. Make sure to take extra care while posting sensitive information online.
How does social media benefit burglars?
As given above, people provide sensitive information online without enabling privacy settings on their profile. The information which includes pictures or check-ins can be accessed by anyone. The photos with geo-tagging feature enables allows your location visible to everyone.
It is similar to sending an invitation to the burglars finding their targets over social media.
Some of the common techniques that are used by the burglars on social media are
- Use Facebook, Instagram or Twitter to track people who are travelling which can be accessed from their online check-ins and posts.
- Geo-tagging enabled photos give a real-time location to the burglars. This feature is either provided by the social media app or tagged when the photos are taken through the smartphone camera.
- Google street view helps burglars to get a view of the location and its surroundings that helps them to plan out their entry and exit based on their target location.
Suppose a person is on a long vacation and has posted about it on his/her social media profile, a burglar who has accessed this information can plan a burglary. Usually, an average burglary takes about 10 minutes. But here, the burglar can spend more time as the house is empty.
Impact of Social Media Burglary on your Insurance Policy
In cases where social media posts have triggered burglaries, the insurance companies have started rejecting insurance claims.
Police are constantly asking people not to post on social media especially when they are on a vacation as it might lead to possible burglaries at your home.
Insurers have now incorporated policies that require customers to take care to keep their property secure. Posting pictures about trips or new purchases will be considered a breach of this policy.
Insurance companies emphasize protecting the property against any accidents, damages and burglaries. They also prohibit and restrict sharing pictures only with your friends and families.
Prevent social media burglary
It is always best to post pictures or videos of your vacation once who return back home. Do not post images while you are travelling. Always share your personal information discreetly.
Stay away from strangers online as well, and never accept requests from unknown persons. Make sure to thoroughly check about the person before accepting friend requests.
There are instances where you receive a friend’s request from one of your friends who is already connected to you. In such cases make sure to check it as it might be a fake profile created by threat actors.
Enable privacy settings in your social media profile and limit it to near and dear ones only.
Do not share images of your recent expensive purchases. It is common for people to boast about their new car or new home. It is similar to inviting burglars to your home.
Too much of anything is not good, likewise sharing a lot about yourself on social media can bring you trouble.
Image Credits : Safewise
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