Can Social Media Lead To You Being Robbed?

We all love going on holiday – who doesn't? And it’s only right that during the build up to your holiday that you will want to share your excitement with friends and family usually via social media.

We’ve all done it, put a little Facebook post saying ‘This time next week I’ll be sunning myself on the beach’ or taken a photo at the airport of a sneaky 6am pint or cocktail to rub it in to your friends who aren’t jetting off to the sun. And when we’re away it is really tempting to post a sun-drenched beach photo onto sites like Instagram.

Statistics show that 1 in 10 share lengthy information on their Facebook or Twitter pages about where they will be going on holiday and for how long (source: Telegraph.co.uk).

However did you know that 78% of recently convicted burglars said that they regularly used social media when picking their next target for a break in. Also 74% admitted that they used Google Street View to look for opportunities and possible easy access areas into properties (source: mediabistro.com).

These statistics are alarming and explain why 8% of returning holiday makers come home to find that their homes have been broken into (source: telegraph.co.uk).

People in the public eye have also been victims of burglars taking advantage of knowing their whereabouts. Over an 18 month period from 2005 to 2006 Liverpool footballers were regularly robbed each time the club had an away European fixture and more recently the UK home of ex-footballer Ian Wright was robbed whilst he was carrying out punditry duties for ITV during the Brazil World Cup.

What the above tells us is that people are always watching what you are doing and what you are posting online.

With this in mind we advise that you think about what you are writing on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media outlets. Instead of telling people prior to your holiday where you are going why not wait and post an album of photos upon your return. Also reviewing your privacy settings is essential. You may trust your friends seeing your posts but your privacy settings may be set so that friends of friends can see what you are posting online. Occasionally Facebook will update their privacy policies so what you think you have set for who can view you might not be the case so please review these regularly. We would advise being even more careful on Twitter as anyone could in theory find your posts on this site.

Finally it’s not just holiday posts that catch the eye of thieves. Be careful not to tell the whole world about the brand new flat screen TV, iPad or piece of jewellery you’ve just got, as some burglars will see this as an advertisement and you’ll be on their radar.

Remember the burglars are watching so don’t make it easy for them!