Computers, Web, Social Networking
Man Suspects Burglars Were Tipped Off by Out-of-Town Tweets
Whenever we go out of town, we all know to ask a friend or relative to stop by and pick up our mail and newspapers, so as not to advertise the fact that we're not at home. It should go without saying, then, that putting a sign on your front door that says "temporarily unoccupied" would be about as dumb as it gets. But, if you're careless about what you post online, you may be doing just that.
According to a Friday report by ABC News, East Mesa, Arizona's Israel Hyman recently discovered this the hard way when his home was robbed of thousands of dollars in computer equipment while he was out of town. When his father, Gerry, stopped by to check on the house, he found the back door jimmied open and his son's Mac Pro, a pair of 23-inch LCD screens, and other equipment missing. Israel believes that the thieves might have been tipped off by his Twitter messages, which also update his Facebook status. He told ABC News that anyone reading his Twitter updates (and Facebook) would have known he was leaving town.
Israel has no intention of quitting his favorite social networking services, though he says from now on he will be more careful about what information he posts online. Clearly, a good idea. We just hope the rest of you don't learn that lesson the hard way. [From: ABC News]
Facebook Crime and Punishment
Blackmail
Sending any personal info or incriminating pictures to someone on Facebook is a huge mistake for many reasons. One of the worst possible outcomes is getting blackmailed for money, sex, or, well, anything these sickos dream up. Really, whether they're using a fake profile or not, it's a horrible idea. Read up on the story of an 18-year-old who blackmailed 31 male classmates after he posed as a girl and asked for nude pictures. That's lesson enough.
Impostors
Sure, it can be harmless to impersonate a celeb online or create a fake profile for a movie character. But seriously, there's a definite line you shouldn't cross when pretending to be someone else and it can lead to dire consequences for you. Maybe it's not as extreme as the Moroccan man who was jailed for 43 days after creating a fake Facebook profile of a prince, but you never know. Just steer clear of it.
Self-Incrimination
Do we really have to explain this? Just look up the shoplifter who posed with her stolen merchandise, the many photos of drunk underage teens, and, most recently, the album featuring a couple who killed and ate an endangered iguana in the Bahamas.
Suicide
Social networking sites has been blamed for a lot of things, fairly and unfairly, but in our opinion, the worst offense has been their indirect involvement in suicides. Obviously, there are a lot of factors responsible in each case, but there does seem to be links between social networking and a rash of suicides, and obviously tehre's the case tragic of Megan Meier, who killed herself after a classmate's mom impersonated a teen boy and harassed her over Myspace.
Murder
We've reported on numerous incidents of people getting in trouble because of their online behavior. Now, people are becoming victims because of what they're doing on the Web too. In England, a man was convicted of murdering his estranged wife after she changed her relationship status to "single." So, be careful of who can see your profile and what you're doing, no matter how harmless it seems.
Nigerian Scammers
Oh, you thought this only happened via poorly worded emails, right? WRONG. Once people got wise to their old ways, these con men are turning to social networking sites for new targets. This time, they're hacking into people's accounts and impersonating them to ask for money, usually with some weird sob story. You can check out a transcript of one of these conversations here.
Cooperation
Even if the law isn't on a case, a victim, his friends, or empathetic strangers might be. Since it's easy to get word out for anything online, people are using blogs, forums, and social networking sites to help track down criminals. In one such case, a vehicle thief was tracked down by a bunch of anonymous car enthusiasts after the victim posted his story on a forum. In the end, they identified the guy through his Facebook profile.
Self-Incrimination
Do we really have to explain this? Just look up the shoplifter who posed with her stolen merchandise, the many photos of drunk underage teens, and, most recently, the album featuring a couple who killed and ate an endangered iguana in the Bahamas.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Doogs said 5:10PM on 6-01-2009
Read about this the other day and sorry, don't buy it. Statistics 101 teaches that correlation =/= causation. Unless someone was close enough to this guy to know where he lived, down to the street number, how would reading a status update on Twitter/Facebook lead to a break-in? And yeah, the robbery sucks, but who guys crying to ABC News over something like that?
And the last thing this world needs is another panic attack about how yet another thing isn't safe because the thieves/pirates/libruls/cannibals/swine flu will get ahold of it and then you'll be sorry.
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SoCoolCurt (PSN: KillaKornbread - XBL: SoCoolCurt) said 7:12PM on 6-01-2009
well if his facebook and twitter accounts are linked, i know plenty of people who have their addresses, schedules, phone numbers, emails and plenty of other stuff readily available to anyone who uses facebook. i mean if you wanted to easily rob somebody, the internet is really all you need to know when someone isn't home. i mean if your careless enough, you could even have your conversations with your house sitter on a facebook wall for everyone to see. this happening is VERY possible.
think about it, a combo of facebook, google search, and google maps could net you everything you need really.
piglet said 7:26PM on 6-01-2009
Because some people that have Facebook also show their full address under the information tab.... if someone saw he was out of town, and he just so happened to have his address visible.. well, that is how Facebook could lead to a break-in.
SoCoolCurt (PSN: KillaKornbread - XBL: SoCoolCurt) said 7:20PM on 6-01-2009
and i'm not typically one of those "omg bad people can get to this so it isn't safe" guys but a look at any news site will tell you that it isn't the service, it's careless people. look at the handful of people being fired over facebook pictures. if it's something that should be private (like that your house will be unoccupied for a week), the internet is the last place you want to put it. the same thing could be a result of casual conversation with someone at work or something, it's just that the internet amplifies the small tid bit of information exponentially.
Cindy said 7:25PM on 6-01-2009
If everyone would just grow up and stop feeling the need to splash your whole lives into cyberspace, such silly things as Twitter and Facebook would not exist. And we would all be better off.
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mikey said 1:04AM on 6-02-2009
OH DUH! WHAT WAS THIS IDIOTS FIRST CLUE ?!
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Michael Ault said 8:44AM on 6-02-2009
Most crimes that are commited are by people we know, not by people that we don't know.
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Lori said 8:55AM on 6-02-2009
Thanx 2 this Article Some of Us Wont Learn The Hard Way
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baroe06 said 9:15AM on 6-02-2009
Morons.......
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Chris said 6:55PM on 6-02-2009
The Mac Pro was probably a couple thousand $$$ on its own.
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JohnTaiko said 11:26AM on 6-02-2009
Why doesn't he also post his bank info so we can go and get some money?
What a "world-class MORON!
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Peter said 2:01PM on 6-02-2009
I wouldn't be surprised if this idiot forgot to tweak twitter NOT to post exact longitude/latitude coordinates of his location.
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Apple Juice said 6:17PM on 6-02-2009
Set your Facebook and Twitter to private. And don't just add anyone to your sites...
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Creepmode said 12:09PM on 6-04-2009
He should have used GPS Cloak before tweeting and definitely shouldn't have inserted location info into that tweet. this is just the tip of the iceberg of this new type of opportunistic crime that will be growing as these social networks become more and more location aware.
check out Locus iControl for GPS Cloak, which broadcasts a fake location to your network "friends" and users can still fully participate in the network's shared maps!
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alphama333 said 9:38PM on 6-10-2009
I have to agree with a few people on here. There are so many other ways to find info on a person. If they have your name, they can google you and those cute little info websites you pay money to, will kindly give ALL info about a person. Including their criminal past and all addresses they lived prior. Even puts out who that person is related too. So, twitter away but, I won't put my real name on something online. I like to keep my info private as much as possible. I even google myself. Listed everyone that was my neighbor even. I'm sorry he got robbed but, don't blame it all on Twitter and broadcast stations.
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obabystar said 10:17PM on 6-10-2009
I remember being a train and this man was very loudly on his cell phone telling a freind he was going out of town..etc etc. All I could think of was how easy it would be to follow the guy home, wait till he left and robbed his house (I would never do it but I bet someone else would) Whenever I leave, I tell one or two people who are feeding my cats but don't tell anyone else. My friends are instructed that if someone asks where I was tell them I had met a new guy and was spending time with him. Even if people call on the phone, while I am on vacation or where ever, I tell them the same thing. Just can't be too careful when you live by yourself..
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sherlita daniel said 10:28PM on 6-10-2009
I don't buy it...i think it was someone he actually knew.
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tyme4juice said 10:42PM on 6-10-2009
twit er idiot
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mage0213 said 11:28PM on 6-10-2009
Presuming that the ID ten TEE here had posted his complete home address on a social networking site, then he is dumb like a doornail.. No-one with any real sense would post their home address for anyone to see.. I don't even fill in the address OR I use an OLD address (the house burned down years ago LOL) I cannot fathom the IQ of this person, but you know what they say.. No Accounting for intelligence
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mage0213 said 11:32PM on 6-10-2009
alphama333.. there is one flaw.. the crooks wouild have to know the guys true name, city, state, etc in order to get that info.. when someone uses one of those background checks to locate someone they are shown several other entries. unless the name they enter is the ONLY unique name there..
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