Posts on Facebook and Twitter alert Burglars

Daily Mirror, pp. 43 - Thursday 21/04/2011 by Steve Myall

FACEBOOK fans are risking a very bad case of post-holiday blues - by letting raiders know they are away.


People are increasing the odds of being burgled by revealing holiday plans to the world on social networking sites such as Twitter.

A Tweet of Facebook status saying something like "packing my cases" or "just landed" alerts thieves who can track down an address within minutes.

Researches say cross-checking a few online databases can soon reveal the exact location of their home. Children are the worst offenders, with half updating their status about going on holiday, a study reveals.

Trevor Davis, of The Co-operative Travel, which did the survey with double locking the door and cancelling the milk these days is not enough. He added: "The traditional precautions taken to protect homes while people are on holiday are being undermined by the growth in social media."

The study of 3000 people found 44% have Facebook friends or Twitter followers they've not met. And 37% have no privacy settings which means anyone can see their messages.