BURGLARY PREVENTION – Are You Over Sharing on Social Media?

Anyone who watched the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day saw the Allstate Insurance “mayhem” man break into a home who, according to a series of ads during the game, learned that the home was empty through postings by the owners on social media. The ads were part of Project Aware Share that Allstate Insurance started to encourage people to be more careful about what they post about their lives on social media.

According to Allstate, more and more burglaries are being connected to people sharing their locations on social media such as Facebook and Twitter. From letting people know that you are at dinner to that big trip to Europe, sharing, or over sharing, what you are doing and where you are at any time of the day, can give a potential burglar the opportunity to steal from you while you are away from your home or apartment. Allstate says that there is no hard data that says this is a trend, but it notes that security and safety experts from around the world are warning their clients to be careful of what they share on social media.

Part of the trick is not posting, tweeting or checking in with your location in real time. Posting those pictures of you on the beach in the Caribbean while you are there can give a burglar the opportunity to break into your home.

The other trick is to manage your security settings so that only a small group of friends, who you know well, receives information about your movements. For example, on Facebook, make sure that you are only sharing with your friends, not with the “public,” which means anyone can see what you have posted.

Other measures that you can take include controlling your Facebook tag settings, cleaning up your friend list, and creating a “close friends” list. For details, go to http://blog.allstate.com/5-social-media-strategies-to-deter-burglary-theft/?_ga=1.144785585.462915536.1421181563.

The Allstate web site has more tips for protecting your home from burglary and using social media safely at http://www.allstate.com/tools-and-resources/aware-share-tips.aspx?intcid=ILC-aware-share-150101:exclusive-content

Before social media, broadcasting our whereabouts was not a problem. We did not have a means to tell the whole world where we were or what we were doing. Now, however, we have that capability. Like leaving your cell phone in your car, where anyone can see it, over sharing can give a burglar the opportunity to steal from you. Many people have learned the hard way about the dangers of over sharing. Take some time to review the Allstate Project Aware Share web site and implement their recommendations.

 

Allstate Insurance:

http://www.allstate.com/tools-and-resources/aware-share.aspx

brandchannel:

http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/2015/01/02/150102-Allstate-Mayhem-Sale.aspx