Risk of Online Crime in Social Media Site

Online Crime from Social Media

Social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook can end up posing a security risk for you. Here is an example how this can happen. A couple living in Arizona decided to go on a vacation. During their holiday, they kept posting updates about their travel and itinerary on Twitter so that friends and family would know what they were up to and when to expect them back.

However, the couple was in for a shock after they returned from their holiday. They house had been burgled and the burglars only stole his work-related equipment and not electronics, which normally stolen when homes are burglarized and robbed.

The wife thought that it was a random incident. But the husband had his doubts. He felt that the burglars had been too selective when robbing things from their home and he finally zeroed in on his posting on Twitter because they were very detailed and anyone would have been able to figure out their whereabouts. In addition, his profile on Twitter provided his work information and that may have been an attractive prospect for the burglars who realized after reading the posts that no one would be home.

This clearly shows that posting detailed information on social networking sites could actually cause you some risks.

Most people use social networking sites to keep in touch with friends and stay abreast of what is happening in their lives. That is why they do not think that there might be criminals lurking around. However, many people also use social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook for professional contact besides personal ones and it is this group of people who need to wary as they are soft targets for people who want to rob and steal.