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Insurance Firm Warns Tweeters and Facebookers of Burglars

by Caleb Johnson on August 28, 2009 at 08:28 AM

It might seem like common sense, but be careful how much you reveal on that Facebook profile or Twitter account. Believe it or not, there are people out there who scour these sites for information that can be used for their nefarious purposes.

According to Yahoo! UK News, research from insurance company Legal & General found that folks who post too much personal information on social networking sites are opening themselves up to burglary. Such missteps include posting your holiday travel plans on Facebook, which 38-percent of users do, and tweeting about that weekend getaway you're taking, which 33-percent of users do. As if those numbers weren't startling enough, there are actually people, albeit a small number, out there who post their phone numbers or street addresses for the digital world to see. According to Legal & General, 10-percent post the former, and 5-percent the latter.

In the report, former burglar (and featured on the BBC's 'Beat the Burglar' series) Michael Fraser said, "They gain confidence by learning more about them, what they are likely to own and when they are likely to be out of the house, and then target appropriate victims. I call it internet shopping for burglars." [From: Yahoo! UK News]

Tags: burglary, crime, facebook, online, socialnetworking, top, twitter

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