Burglars Use Facebook and Twitter, Too
My wife is constantly locking me out of the house. I can't explain it. She tells me its an "unconscious act," but sometimes I think she does it because she thinks its hilarious.
I'll step into the garage on a Saturday afternoon to change the oil in her car, and when I try to walk back into the house, the door will be locked. When I walk out the back door to take dinner off of the grill, I usually find myself locked out when I return with a tray of food. One time, I stepped onto the front porch to buy girl scout cookies. I couldn't have been outside for three minutes, but when I turned around to open the front door. *sigh*
An Open Invitation to Crime
Standing there ringing my own doorbell with a handful of cookies, I had to admit that I was grateful that she's hyper-aware of the locks on the doors and windows. Most home invasions and burglaries are aimed at houses with easy access. Think about it; if you were going to rob a house, wouldn't you pick an empty one with an open door?
Yet that's basically what happens when social media makes it all too easy for the bad guys to find easy targets.
In addition to the steps most people take when safeguarding their home (locks, alarms, dogs, etc), there's one step that they often overlook. Remember: Don’t let the bad guys know your house is empty!
Most people wouldn't leave an outbound message on their voice mail that tells people they’re on vacation for a week. People don’t let their mail accumulate, their newspapers pile up, or their lawn get out of hand while they’re away, either.
So here’s the funny thing; Users of social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn think nothing of posting real-time photos showing themselves laying on beaches, conquering mountains, ambling through zoos, or strolling down the boardwalk, half a world away from their homes! They brag about being away!
Make no mistake -- the bad guys are definitely online.
A Vacation Gone Wrong
Recently, a couple from Mesa, Ariz. was burglarized while on vacation. He ran a video editing company and had many contacts through Twitter. While Twittering about their long drive to Kansas City, somebody broke into their home. While most of the regular home electronics went untouched, the thieves knew (through Twitter) that the homeowner had a lot of expensive video editing equipment, and that's what they took.
Be careful when you're telling your Facebook friends about your business trips or vacations. Make sure you know whom your followers are on Twitter, or keep your Tweets as generic as you can.
My wife and I pay a friend of ours to live in our house and keep an eye on things while we’re gone for an extended vacation. Even if we’re just gone overnight, we let our neighbors know, and they come over to check on things.
When I lived alone in my townhouse, it was a bigger problem. I lived near the airport, and the townhome complex was full of flight attendants and pilots who were gone all the time, like I was. We all had each other's keys and took turns watching TV or cooking dinner in each other’s houses occasionally, just to keep things looking "lived in."
However you decide to handle your home while you’re away, take great care to avoid telling the whole world about it!
EXTRA: Please feel free to leave comments on this article! If you have questions for Ken regarding business travel, hotels, airplanes, etc, please send him a "Tweet" on his twitter account. You can also follow Ken on Twitter @foodbreeze!
