A 2014 study from the Australian Institute of Criminology found that 78 per cent of ex-burglars strongly believed that existing thieves utilised social media platforms for status updates and to target homes for burglary. Almost three-quarters of those involved in the study stated that Google Street View was playing a role by allowing thieves to scope out properties.
With a reported 13 million Australians active on Facebook each month, it’s important to be careful about what we share on social media and with whom.
Here are seven tips from the security experts at ADT for helping to protect your home from intruders:
1. Consider never making public your personal details such as your address or phone number; this can lead thieves directly to your home.
2. Review the privacy settings on social media to ensure that you only share information amongst your friends and followers who you would like to see your information.
3. Check that your children personally know who their friends and followers are, and ask them to remove anyone they don’t know.
4. Don’t promote your absence on social media. Keep holiday plans to yourself and avoid sharing images of your holiday destination while you are away, particularly with geotags or hashtags.
5. Disconnect location based applications that tell people where you are, such as ‘Places’ on Facebook.
6. Consider not sharing photos of children in their school or sporting uniforms, which may identify the suburb where you live.
7. Avoid posting pictures of new gifts and expensive items in the home to ensure you are not tempting would-be thieves.
For further information visit www.adtsecurity.com.au.
