Social Media Safety – How Much Are You Giving Away?
Some hints and tips for keeping you and your family safe on social media.
Social media is great and it’s something most of us use every day to share moments with our family and friends. However, in recent years, burglars have been using social media as a way of targeting homes that are likely to be empty – yep, it can be done! This doesn’t mean you have to shut down your Facebook account and quit Twitter cold-turkey, but here are a few hints and tips to keep you, your family and your home safe from social-savvy criminals…
Keep Your Profile Private
Without knowing, your social media profile could be completely open to the public – that means anyone from anywhere can see what you’re posting. The best way to check is to copy your profile link, sign out of your account and then paste the link into your browser – if you can see your entire profile, everyone else can too. You can easily change this in your profile’s privacy settings.
Don’t Check In
When you ‘check in’ on social media, you’re basically letting everyone know that you’re not in your house. Even if your profile is private, a “friend” might know a few people who would be interested in knowing when you’re not home. Best bet is to avoid checking in all together. Again, if you post photos of your holiday while you’re there, you may as well write ‘OPEN FOR 2 WEEKS – COME ON IN’ on your front door. Wait until you’re home to share the photos (and enjoy a night of reminiscing).
Keep Events Offline
If you are going on holiday and you have teenagers or young adults looking after themselves at home, it’s important to warn them of the dangers of setting up an event on social media. Even if the intention is to invite a few friends around for movies and pizza, other people can access the details of the event (including the location) and show up. This can lead to a home full of complete strangers and a situation that spirals out of control. If a night in is on the cards, ask them to give their guests a call or text instead.
What are your top tips for staying safe on social media?
