Last time I warned about being selective of what you post on your social media account for your career’s sake but now an even more pressing reason to be careful about what you post online has emerged – safety. According to a report from Legal and General there is no doubt that criminals (especially burglars) can use and are using things they get from people’s social media accounts to find targets. Yes criminals can surf too!
Here are just some of the findings:
* 38% of users of sites such as Facebook and Twitter have posted status updates detailing their holiday plans and a third, 33% of people have posted status updates saying that they are away for the weekend.
* Nearly half, 48% of respondents have no worries about the security or privacy of social networking sites.
* Of all social networking sites, Facebook creates the most concern with 46% of respondents feeling that there are some security and privacy risks.
* The younger you are, the more likely you are to give information away concerning your whereabouts, with nearly two-thirds, 64% of 16-24 year olds sharing their holiday plans – which could be a cause for concern for parents.
* 34% of respondents have seen somebody else’s phone number posted on their social networking profile.
* Nearly one in ten, 9% of respondents have included their own phone number and 5% have included their address in the personal information section of social networking sites visible to friends.
* Some people are sharing mobile numbers and addresses directly with strangers: 6% have written their phone number and 3% have written their address “wall-to-wall” or on pages open to those who are not accepted contacts.
* Men are more blasé about personal information – 13% have included their mobile number on their profile compared with just 7% of women and 9% of men have included their address compared with just 4% of women.
* 70% of users think that social media sites are a great place to share photos of their cool new purchases and presents.
All these info may seem innocent enough to you but remember that’s because you are innocent but for burglars they’re huge neon signs saying “I’m ripe for the picking!”
In other news
The lai dai han crimes
