Burglary Ring Used Facebook Places To Find Targets 152
Kilrah_il writes "A burglary ring was caught in Nashua, NH due to the vigilance of an off-duty police officer. The group is credited with 50 acts of burglary, the targets chosen because they posted their absence from home on the Internet. '"Be careful of what you post on these social networking sites," said Capt. Ron Dickerson. "We know for a fact that some of these players, some of these criminals, were looking on these sites and identifying their targets through these social networking sites."' Well, I guess the prophecies came true."
Re:Nothing new (Score:5, Interesting)
And Google Street View's a gift for casing the joint - checking houses without burglar alarms, or with old/cheap ones, checking access and escape routes, etc - with no suspicion whatsoever, and no chance of a neighbour being able to remember someone acting a bit strangely a few days before a burglary took place.
Re:hmm (Score:4, Interesting)
and mind your privacy settings regarding "Everyone."
Facebook / Twitter location services (Score:4, Interesting)
This isn't surprising to me because Facebook and Twitter apps on mobile (iPhone and android) have a "location" feature in them that always really scared me. Basically it posts your position along with your post, and people can track you..
I guess that's not directly related to this particular burglary ring, but it could be used in the same way.. or just to rob people of their phone. "Person A is at the starbucks and they clearly have an iPhone since Facebook says 'posted from my iPhone'.."
Silver Lining (Score:5, Interesting)
But now, thanks to Places and the idiots that use it, burgling is easier than ever!
There is a silver lining to that cloud. The more criminals are tempted to go after those who actively make themselves an easy target, the more likely it is that those with a bit of sense will be left alone. This means you now have more control than ever over whether this will happen to you. Choice is good.
Re:Silver Lining (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Nothing new (Score:1, Interesting)
A good point, and if we're talking about Facebook, Twitter, and other forums for broadcasting one's own vanity or stupidity, that's one thing. Stuff like Streetview is not exactly voluntary, though. Neither is the publication of volumes of government records about individuals, which were nice and relatively harmless locked up in filing cabintes or on microfilm due to difficulty of access, but which provide a treasure trove of information when published online. It's not just about what people choose to publish online, otherwise I'd say let the stupid be stupid. However, you CAN be targeted by online searches these days without doing anything, and in fact without ever having used the Internet at all. Old news to be sure, but sometimes it takes a while for chickens to come home to roost.
Deleted Facebook account (Score:2, Interesting)
I recently bit the bullet and deleted my FB account - I've had concerns about privacy on there from the get go. I did however start a new account using a name that is similar but not quite the same as my real name. I figure it will be hard for most people to find me that aren't in my immediate circle of trusted friends.
So, now I am starting to re-friend everyone which also has a couple of advantages. I get to say hi to a few people I haven't been in direct contact with when I drop them a new friend request and also have an excuse for dropping a bunch of people I should not have added in the first place (very old people from school I never really liked nor wanted remain friends with anyway). Further to this I can explain to a few people that ask why I deleted my account why I did so and spread the message of FB privacy issues.
Overall, I feel that at least now with a semi anonymous name/profile I am much less likely to be faced with these major privacy issues cropping up and can enjoy FB that much more.
Re:Always change your privacy settings (Score:1, Interesting)
I really liked your post, it was cool and logical. Then, I assume so you could fit in here (the Internet), you go and post the douchey paragraph at the end.
Re:Nothing new (Score:3, Interesting)
Most pawn shops, at least where I'm from have an FFL (Federal Firearms License, the stamp they need to sell guns as a business), but private sales are perfectly legal and don't require the seller to do a background check on the buyer. Plus, all sales records at the store and with the state police are destroyed after 30 days (or are supposed to be) in accordance with state law. But yeah, if you're in Massachusetts, probably not so easy.