How your social media timelines could make your home a target for burglars

The pandemic has put a stop to going out over the last two years, but as Christmas approaches and get-togethers pick up, make sure your excitement to shout about it doesn’t impact your security.

Your social media timelines are a goldmine of information for burglars – and the main thing they want to know is when you are out.

Have a look back over your timelines to see how much you tag, get tagged or check-in. How many times did you tell people that you were out and your home was empty?
Burglars take around 90 seconds to get in and out – they know where to look and what they want; you’ve usually posted that on social media too!

Here’s our advice for how to keep your timelines safe and secure

• Don’t post about where you are going on a particular day or time in advance.
• Don’t click the ‘going’ button to an event on Facebook – it’s usually public information that can be seen by many people, including those who might be targeting your home.
• Don’t ‘check in’ or tag yourself whilst at the event. Post one you are home. No one needs to see your photos ‘live’ with it being such a risk to your security.
• Don’t allow tagging – change your settings to enable you to authorise what posts you are being tagged in. Someone else’s might give it away that you aren’t home.
• Privacy settings – change all settings to be as private as you can make them. Strangers shouldn’t be able to access your profile.
• Watch out for scams – if someone you know sends a friend request on Facebook, check that it is authentic and not a hacker who has cloned someone’s profile. Look for their profile and if you are still ‘friends’ you will know it’s been a scam.